Elements

In the latest chapter of a hotly contested environmental issue, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unveiled the final version of an interim national strategy outlining the steps it will take to protect and restore the sage grouse habitat on America’s public lands.

In the latest chapter of a hotly contested environmental issue, the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) unveiled the final version of an interim national strategy outlining the steps it will take to protect and restore the sage grouse habitat on America’s public lands.

FERC last week moved to provide guidance and clarification related to the elements of filings made by regional transmission organizations (RTOs) in response to a decision issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

FERC last Wednesday gave its stamp of approval to the lion’s share of a proposal made by New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) and ISO New England that will set up a standard market design (SMD) for the New England region and, more broadly, help to standardize regional wholesale power markets both across the northeast and the rest of the United States.

Although the state appears to have all the elements in place to successfully open its electricity markets to competition, the chairman of the Mississippi Public Service Commission (PSC) continues to harbor serious doubts as to how such a move will accrue to the benefit of the state’s retail customers.

Having lost much of the supporting elements for higher prices from earlier in the week, the cash market yielded to the inevitable Friday with sizeable across-the-board declines. Losses were measured in the teens at nearly all eastern points, while larger drops in the West were topped by dollar-plus plunges at the California border-SoCalGas and OFO-devastated PG&E citygate.

California Gov. Gray Davis “delivered” on his plan to buy outthe transmission systems of the financially-troubled investor-ownedutilities in the state Friday, outlining the framework of a deal,but with no dollar signs attached and no on-the-record agreementswith the utilities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has found some missingelements in the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS)prepared by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on theAlliance Pipeline project which is in competition with Voyaguer tocarry western Canadian supplies to the Chicago area.