Issues

A new bi-partisan bill was introduced Tuesday to address climatechange issues using “American ingenuity in the marketplace todevelop new technology that can be exported and deployed around theworld.” Chief sponsor, Chairman Frank H. Murkowski of the SenateEnergy Committee, said the Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999would chart a different course than the Kyoto Protocol. “Our billrepresents a long-term, technology-based, alternative to Kyoto.Even if the U.S. succeeded in limiting its own emissions, “we areunlikely to compel China to submit to mandated emissions limits.But they want to buy our technology, so let’s play our stronghand.”

FERC yesterday set the merger between Western Resources Inc. andKansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) for evidentiary hearingon issues involving market power and customer protection.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals ManagementService (MMS) doesn’t expect Sale 172 in the Central Gulf of Mexico(GOM) scheduled for March 17, 1999 in New Orleans to set anyrecords.

Representatives of the major utility industries, natural gas,electricity and telecommunications, met in Houston this week tojointly address Y2K issues. Gary Gardner, chief information officerof the American Gas Association (AGA) cited interlocking activitiesas the basis for the meeting. For instance electricity powers manyof the pipeline compressor stations that keep the natural gasflowing. “Although gas companies have manual overrides that can beused in the event of an electrical power shortage or outage, fieldpersonnel posted at the compressor stations will rely ontelecommunications devices to communicate with their headquarters.

One of the “biggest issues” facing the natural gas industry inthe upcoming year with respect to Y2K will be the readiness of “keyproviders and dependent players,” namely the electricity andtelecommunications industries, said pipeline and LDC officials lastweek.

Hoping to relieve stranded costs due to state deregulation,Montana Power Co. (MPC) announced Tuesday that its MPC Natural GasFunding Trust issued $62.7 million worth of asset-backed transitionbonds in a private placement. There was a 6.2% coupon on the bondsissued. The utility said proceeds from these bonds will be used toreduce its outstanding debt and equity.

A Canadian-backed merchant underground storage operator hasraised a red flag in California’s ongoing, but delayed, natural gasrestructuring proceedings by questioning how new energy marketplayers can compete with, but be dependent on, the state’s majorinvestor-owned utilities.

In preparation for a major workshop on capacity auctions, FERCon Friday issued a staff paper that provides an overview of thesubject – the benefits of auctions, factors to be considered whendesigning auctions, the different types of auctions, the use ofauctions in the pipeline industry today and a glossary of auctionterms.

Reviewing its nearly five years of weekly natural gas storagesurveys, the American Gas Assoc. (AGA) said its numbers generallyhave tracked the more rigorously compiled monthly surveys by theEnergy Information Administration (EIA) and the AGA survey hasbecome an industry standard.