Frequency

The scope, complexity and frequency of major new financial schemes promise to make energy state regulators increasingly scratch their heads and yell for help, a panel of three regulators from the diverse states of California, Missouri and Ohio concluded at the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) annual utilities conference May 31 in New York City. The three regulators said they and their colleagues around the nation are going to have to “raise their game to grapple with a set of issues that are qualitatively different than what they were only a few years ago.”

The scope, complexity and frequency of major new financial schemes promise to make energy state regulators increasingly scratch their heads and yell for help, a panel of three regulators from the diverse states of California, Missouri and Ohio concluded at the Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) annual utilities conference May 31 in New York City. The three regulators said they and their colleagues around the nation are going to have to “raise their game to grapple with a set of issues that are qualitatively different than what they were only a few years ago.”

FERC staff said Friday that an incorrect e-mail attachment sent by a “clerk” at Dominion Transmission to weekly storage surveyors at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) led to the erroneous storage report last month and subsequent jump in futures prices. FERC staff estimates the error and price run-up cost U.S. consumers $200 million to $1 billion.