Legally

The recent appellate court ruling declaring the existing five-year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing plan for 2007-2012 to be “legally defective” has called into question the Interior Department leases issued for oil and natural gas development in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska under the plan, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Wednesday.

The recent appellate court ruling declaring the existing five-year Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing plan for 2007-2012 to be “legally defective” has called into question the Interior Department leases issued for oil and natural gas development in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska under the plan, said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Wednesday.

Still languishing in a legally imposed “silent” period that runs until Dec. 10, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) nevertheless is keeping a busy pace preparing to make a deluge of key regulatory filings by the end of the year on its proposed $7.4 billion merger with a consortium of Australian and Canadian private equity interests bidding to take the Bellevue, WA-based utility private.

Already legally troubled Progress Energy Inc., Raleigh, NC, ran into more problems Thursday when the San Francisco city attorney sued the company for $300 million, alleging a predecessor of the company defaulted on an energy-saving contract for which the city’s schools had already paid more than $23 million.

Joining a growing list of peers that already have abandoned the legally ensnared Arthur Andersen LLP, Dynegy Corp., Apache Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Tom Brown Inc. said last week that they were cutting ties with the auditing firm. The announcements by the companies came within days of Arthur Andersen pleading not guilty to obstruction of justice in a Houston court.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy last week outlined its plans toconsolidate, but not legally merge, operations of its distributionutilities, which combined form the largest utility in terms ofmeters (6.1 million) in the nation. Southern California Gas Co. andSan Diego Gas and Electric Co. will continue to exist, according toSempra spokesman Doug Kline.

Clarifying its intentions, San Diego-based Sempra Energy yesterdayoutlined its plans to consolidate, but not legally merge, operationsof its distribution utilities, which combined form the largest utilityin terms of meters (6.1 million) in the nation. Southern CaliforniaGas Co. and San Diego Gas and Electric Co. will continue to exist,according to Sempra’s spokesperson Doug Kline. (See Daily GPI, March 21)