Emergency

Comments are due Friday (Jan. 4) on the Energy Information Administration’s emergency clearance request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) that would allow EIA to require weekly submissions of storage data so it can publish a storage survey report to replace the one currently issued by the American Gas Association (AGA).

Having been singled out by California’s governor for “price-gouging” during recent rolling blackouts for charging $1,900/MWh for some emergency spot market supplies, Houston-based Reliant Energy’s wholesale businesses President/COO Joe Bob Perkins fought back Friday, crying foul, but drawing short of saying his company would seek any legal action against the confidentiality of its bulk power transactions being apparently violated by state officials.

A House GOP stopgap bill for California and FERC’s decision to limit price mitigation to emergency spot transactions in the state’s wholesale power market were broadsided by House and Senate Democrats last week, as well as by California energy officials.

On an emergency basis, California regulators Thursday approved the installation of real-time metering for San Diego Gas and Electric’s 4,700 largest commercial and industrial customers that don’t presently have real time metering as an aid to reducing electricity demand during peak periods this summer.

Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX) was expected to send out a “discussion draft” of his widely anticipated emergency legislation for California to members of the House Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee late yesterday, which means that it’s “still very open to change,” said Barton press aide Samantha Jordan. While “it’s more likely than not” that Barton will introduce a bill to aid California, “it’s not definite.” If he decides in favor of legislation, she said he will probably come out with it in late April after the congressional recess. Barton would then hold one hearing on the bill and move quickly to mark-up. Barton also is hoping to unveil omnibus energy legislation in the House by late May or early June, Jordan noted, and forward it to the White House by early fall.

President George W. Bush put an end to a lot of anticipation at FERC last Tuesday when he announced his plans to nominate Texas regulator Patrick H. Wood III and Pennsylvania regulator Nora M. Brownell for the two vacant commissioner spots on the Commission. But the president was mum on whether Wood would replace current FERC Chairman Curt Hebert Jr.

The Iowa Utilities Board has begun an emergency investigation tostudy the adequacy of payment options available to natural gascustomers following the record-high energy bills this winter. Theboard is holding a workshop today in Des Moines, and has invitedall regulated natural gas utilities serving the state toparticipate.

Governors of nine western states announced last week an emergency energy conservation strategy to avert a California-type energy crisis and to mitigate future higher energy prices.

Even in the wake of the summer’s power crisis and emergencymeasures, San Diego Gas and Electric can’t find any long-term powerpurchase deals to its liking, and, in fact, it has pulled back arequest-for-proposal it had outstanding, soliciting longer-term,fixed price contracts.