Improperly

Washington state regulators fined Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) $430,000 for improperly charging natural gas and electric utility residential customers for disconnecting their service. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved a multi-party settlement agreement that alleged 1,639 violations by the combination utility of the state’s consumer protection rules. In addition, PSE now has refunded disconnect-visit fees it charged more than 9,000 customers, dating back to December 2009. PSE also has agreed to change its policy regarding the disconnection visits, the UTC said.

ATP Oil & Gas Corp. has filed a lawsuit claiming that it lost more than $68 million when the federal government “improperly and illegally” suspended offshore drilling in the wake of the April 2010 Macondo well blowout and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and “unlawfully delayed” permits to the company even after the moratorium was lifted.

State of Washington regulatory commission staff Wednesday lodged allegations against Puget Sound Energy (PSE) that the combination utility improperly charged residential customers for reconnection of their natural gas and electric service in violation of state consumer protection rules. The staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) alleges 1,639 violations by PSE. Those allegations are separate from an ongoing case involving a $104,300 penalty already assessed the Bellevue, WA-based utility for violating an order directing it to correct the use of its “refusal of service” requirements (see Daily GPI, Oct. 27). The UTC staff is asking that more than 1,600 customers allegedly charged a $13 field visit disconnection fee in error be reimbursed by the utility, following an investigation that spanned from March to May this year.

If the natural gas industry has its way, Gasland director Josh Fox won’t be “thanking the academy” for an Oscar on Feb. 27.

The top Republican on a House subcommittee has raised questions about whether the Interior Department “improperly awarded safety certifications to BP, Transocean and the Deepwater Horizon rig,” which exploded on April 20 and led to a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is quickly becoming one of the most significant environmental disasters in recent history (see related story).

FERC last week dismissed a complaint accusing El Paso Corp.’s Southern Natural Gas of acting improperly in awarding capacity during an open season that closed in August.

FERC Monday dismissed a complaint accusing El Paso Corp.’s Southern Natural Gas of acting improperly in awarding capacity during an open season that closed in August.

Southern Natural Gas disputes claims by an affiliate of a Houston-based natural gas marketer that the pipeline acted improperly by deviating from the usual approach for aggregating bids in awarding capacity during an open season that closed in August. Southern, an El Paso Corp. pipeline, was accused of violating its tariff and FERC policy.

Southern Natural Gas disputes claims by an affiliate of a Houston-based natural gas marketer that the pipeline acted improperly by deviating from the usual approach for aggregating bids in awarding capacity during an open season that closed in August. Southern, an El Paso Corp. pipeline, was accused of violating its tariff and FERC policy.