Facing

California doesn’t have the patent on an overburdened natural gas pipeline infrastructure. The problems facing neighboring Arizona are equally, if not more, critical, state regulators contend.

California doesn’t have the patent on an overburdened natural gas pipeline infrastructure. The problems facing neighboring Arizona are equally, if not more, critical, state regulators contend.

Facing the prospect of Davis administration regulators sacking electric retail competition, an alliance of large and small interests Tuesday urged California officials to consider alternatives that do not require shutting down the last vestiges of its 1996 restructuring law permitting direct access contracts.

In the midst of an ever-widening series of battles facing merchant electricity generators during California’s energy crisis, the state’s small generator trade association Wednesday lauded the newly inked deal with Southern California Edison Co. and many of the state’s small qualifying facility (QF) generators as good for consumers and a means of “stabilizing” state wholesale power prices. A string of legal suits by both the utility and QFs has been suspended as a result.

Supply deficiencies facing the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) this summer will be worse than anticipated by the Cal-ISO, and California residents should brace for a higher number of rolling blackouts over the coming months than they experienced last summer or this past winter, according to a widely anticipated report unveiled last week by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC).

A “quadrilemma” within Mexico’s natural gas and electricity sectors is causing almost overwhelming obstacles in its natural gas and electricity sectors, which are going to take time and private investment to overcome, according to one of the country’s energy commissioners.

The coming decade promises to reveal a different utilityindustry than the one today, which already is bursting around theedges from the speed-of-light changes, according to Victor A. Burk,a managing partner in Arthur Andersen’s energy and utilitiesindustry sector. Burk offered what he termed his “megatrends” athis company’s energy symposium last week in Houston.

The coming decade promises to reveal a different utilityindustry than the one today, which already is bursting around theedges from the speed-of-light changes, according to Victor A. Burk,a managing partner in Arthur Andersen’s energy and utilitiesindustry sector. Burk offered what he termed his “megatrends” athis company’s energy symposium this week in Houston.

Facing more power alerts, near-record demand and strongpolitical pressure, the California Independent System Operator(Cal-ISO) Board Monday voted, 15-6, to lower the price cap to$250/MW for ancillary services, and spent another day discussingwhat combination of fixed-price supply deals and infrastructureupgrades can help the state avoid blackouts and rolling brownoutsthe rest of this summer. The price cap lowering is effective Aug.7.