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Southern Union Co. and hedge fund Sandell Asset Management Corp. last week struck an agreement that tables the sale of local distribution company (LDC) assets by Southern Union as well as the formation of a master limited partnership (MLP). Sandell, through affiliates, owns 8.6% of Southern Union and had been pressuring the company to bolster shareholder returns since late 2006.

FERC Thursday rejected the uncontested joint settlement entered into by its own Office of Enforcement staff with affiliates of collapsed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC and two of its natural gas traders accused of manipulating the market to influence natural gas futures prices.

FERC Thursday rejected the uncontested joint settlement entered into by its own Office of Enforcement staff with affiliates of collapsed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC and two of its natural gas traders accused of manipulating the market to influence natural gas futures prices.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Thursday approved spending $3.6 billion during the next three years to fund low-income rate relief programs for customers of the state’s four major private-sector utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Southern California Edison Co., San Diego Gas and Electric Co. and Southern California Gas Co. The funds cover 2009-2011.

A union dispute over proposed pension fund changes at Nevada Power Co. upstaged a Nevada Public Utilities Commission (PUC) meeting with consumers in Las Vegas Tuesday. The meeting had been called to discuss the prospects of higher natural gas prices and their impact on retail utility electric rates for Nevada Power and the other Sierra Pacific Resources’ utility, Sierra Pacific Power Co.

NGS Energy LP said it intends to raise $310 million in senior secured credit facilities to fund remaining construction and pad gas purchases at Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC, a new underground salt cavern gas storage facility under construction in Matagorda and Wharton counties, TX. Tres Palacios will have three caverns and will be a high-deliverability, multi-cycle facility with several interconnections and significant storage capacity. Credit Suisse has been retained to raise the financing. The project — which received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval in September 2007 (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21, 2007) — would be designed to allow cycling up to seven times a year, with a peak injection rate of 1 Bcf/d and a maximum withdrawal capability of 2.5 Bcf/d. Tres Palacios also plans to construct approximately 42 miles of pipeline that would extend from the facility to interconnections with 12 intrastate and interstate pipelines. The FERC order requires the storage and pipeline facilities to be built and in service within one year. Tres Palacios would be situated among several proposed or existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals, including Calhoun LNG and Freeport LNG. The project includes a header system that crosses more than 8 Bcf/d of downstream pipeline capacity. Headquartered in Westport, CT, NGS Energy was founded in 2006 to develop a portfolio of high-deliverability storage assets.

House Democrats have wasted little time in coming out with another bill that would fund renewable energy and energy conservation at the expense of oil and gas producers.

House Democratic leaders are considering resurrecting as early as this week a failed $21 billion energy tax package to fund renewable energy by rolling back tax incentives for traditional oil and natural gas.

Failed hedge fund Amaranth Advisors LLC says it plans to appeal later this week FERC’s recent decision upholding its assertion of jurisdiction in the natural gas futures market. At the same time, Amaranth and affiliates have asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to stay the enforcement proceedings at the agency pending the court’s review of the jurisdictional issue.