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Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, late Friday said his panel would start marking up pending energy legislation later this month and would give the Bush administration another chance to explain its proposals to allow oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, late Friday said his panel would start marking up pending energy legislation later this month and said he would give the Bush administration another chance to explain its proposals to allow oil companies to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

On the same day that he was handed the reins of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) said that bipartisan legislation directing FERC to set cost-based rates to ensure just and reasonable wholesale energy prices in California could get consideration from the panel within the next couple of weeks. Separately, newly-minted Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) made it clear earlier this week that he stands ready to support such legislation if FERC falls short of meeting its just and reasonable obligations.

As he prepares to take the reins of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) last week said that he does not believe that writing price caps into law should be the first response of Congress to out-of-control wholesale electricity prices seen in California in recent months. Instead, the New Mexico senator argued that Congress should be calling on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to fulfill its responsibilities to ensure just and reasonable wholesale power rates.

Fluor Corporation and Duke Energy Corp. named Jeff Faulk president and CEO of Duke/Fluor Daniel, a joint venture of the two companies that provides global engineering, construction and operating services to fossil-fueled power generating facilities. Faulk comes to the partnership from Fluor Daniel, where he most recently served as senior vice president, operations for the Americas, within the energy & chemicals strategic business unit. Harvey Padewer, group president of Energy Services for Duke Energy, said the partnership is poised to emerge as the clear leader in fossil-fueled power generation under Faulk’s leadership. “Last year, Duke/Fluor Daniel was building one out of every 3 MW of natural gas-fired generation under construction in the U.S.,” Padewer said. “The industry is beginning to take serious notice of this partnership and its global project portfolio — that includes everything from combined cycle plants to innovative clean- burning coal technology.”

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) last week applauded the Bush administration move to create a Cabinet-level task force to address a national energy policy, but he said the effort would “barely scratch the surface” of all the critical energy issues facing the nation at this time.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) yesterday applauded the Bushadministration move to create a Cabinet-level task force to addressa national energy policy, but he said the effort would “barelyscratch the surface” of the real energy issues facing the nation atthis time.

California’s power crisis had no effect on Enron’s fourthquarter earnings and will have little effect on the earnings impactfor this year, COO Jeff Skilling said yesterday. Enron does not owngeneration assets in the state, but markets electricity there, withits profits coming from merchant activities it chooses to conduct.

Responding to persistent rumors over the Thanksgiving weekend ofa possible profit warning, Enron COO Jeff Skilling last week deniedproblems with earnings for any of the myriad energy andcommunications businesses for North America’s largest buyer andseller of natural gas and electricity.