Hoped

As hoped for by coalbed methane producers operating in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana regulators have reached a tentative agreement to prevent CBM production from polluting the rivers in the region. Under the tentative proposal announced last week, CBM producers would be allowed to dump discharge water on the ground over an 18-to-24-month period to determine if it actually pollutes the rivers.

As hoped for by coalbed methane producers operating in the Powder River Basin, Wyoming and Montana regulators have reached a tentative agreement to prevent CBM production from polluting the rivers in the region. Under the proposal reached this week, CBM producers would be allowed to dump discharge water on the ground over an 18-to-24-month period to determine if it actually pollutes the rivers.

Summer-like temperatures are coming a little earlier than California officials had hoped as the California Independent System Operator implemented a Stage 2 power alert and expected modest rolling blackouts for the third day in a row Wednesday, struggling with what it called extreme high temperatures throughout the region and insufficient resources. A 750-MW unit was knocked out in the San Francisco Bay area in the afternoon, further worsening the situation.

The hoped-for agreement among California’s three investor-ownedutilities and the California’s political establishment was stillout of reach last Friday, but feeling the need to announce someprogress in preparation for his political trip to Washington, DC,and Wall Street early this week. Gov. Gray Davis said the state isclosest to a deal to pay $2.76 billion for the transmission linesof Southern California Edison.

The hoped-for agreement among California’s three investor-ownedutilities and the California’s political establishment was stillout of reach last Friday, but feeling the need to announce someprogress in preparation for his political trip to Washington, DC,and Wall Street early this week. Gov. Gray Davis said the state isclosest to a deal to pay $2.76 billion for the transmission linesof Southern California Edison.

Adding another building block to its long hoped for pipelinethrough Wisconsin and Illinois, Guardian Pipeline signed anagreement with IPSCO Inc. to manufacture and deliver steel pipe forthe proposed 149 mile-long pipeline. IPSCO will begin producing thepipe next fall to complement Guardian’s construction, which isexpected to get under way by early 2002. Though regulatory approvalis still to come, the agreement brings Guardian’s project closer toreality. In July, FERC concluded Guardian would have “limitedadverse impact,” and would be acceptable as long as appropriatemitigation measures were adopted. FERC is expected to make a finaldecision on the project by early next year. Guardian will transportgas from interconnections with Alliance, Northern Border,Midwestern Gas Transmission and the Natural Gas Pipeline of Americaat the Chicago Hub near Joliet, IL to northern Illinois andsouthern Wisconsin markets.

CMP Natural Gas (CMPNG) got less than it hoped for out of a recent Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decision which allowed the LDC to serve both a 540 MW power plant in Westbrook, ME, and an electric municipality in Gorham ME, but not general customers in Westbrook. The decision was passed down earlier this month. CMPNG is a joint venture between Energy East and Central Maine Power Group.

CMP Natural Gas (CMPNG) got less than it hoped for out of a recent Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decision which allowed the LDC to serve both a 540 MW power plant in Westbrook, ME and an electric municipality in Gorham ME, but not general customers in Westbrook. The decision was passed down earlier this month. CMPNG is a joint venture between Energy East and Central Maine Power Group.