Lauds

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an impassioned statement declaring “another victory” with the proposed settlement for up to $750 million with Chapter 11 bankruptcy-immersed Mirant Corp., which was announced last Friday (see Daily GPI, Jan. 18). The governor promised that any net paybacks from this and other earlier settlements will be used to lower electric rates for private-sector utility customers.

The American Public Gas Association (APGA) sent a letter to FERC Chairman Pat Wood this week applauding the Commission’s action on Monday against three companies who violated FERC’s standards of conduct by allowing employees to share nonpublic, commercially sensitive gas storage information with affiliates and certain customers.

California’s regulators, who supported a controversial PG&E bankruptcy settlement last year, cheered on state elected officials last week for producing a law that will allow the utility to continue with its final steps to full recovery.

As the initiators of a cost-saving regulatory-based financing step for one of the state’s largest and most contentious utilities, California’s regulators who supported a controversial settlement last year Tuesday cheered on state elected officials for producing a law that will allow formerly bankrupt Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to continue with its final steps to full recovery.

FERC Chairman Pat Wood last Wednesday said that the board of trustees of the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) “stepped up to the mat” last week when it voted to approve a set of reliability-related recommendations crafted in the wake of the devastating Aug. 14, 2003 blackout that cut across large swaths of the United States and Canada.

The American Gas Association (AGA) has found a lot to like about revisions announced Thursday by the Environmental Protection Agency in its New Source Review (NSR) program. The changes, EPA said, are aimed at clarifying and improving the operation of the rules for curbing pollution from energy and other production plants that are a source of emissions.

Gas industry representatives applauded the Senate Finance Committee’s passage of energy tax legislation late Wednesday. The tax bill provides $4 billion in credits and incentives to the oil and gas industry. The full Senate is expected to begin debate soon on the national energy policy bill, which will include the tax incentives. A key issue going forward will be whether lawmakers can find budget offsets to fund the tax incentive program.