Legislative

Battling a moves to re-impose the cap on prices paid in the secondary transportation market to California, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) went on record last week opposing an attempt by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-VA, in a subcommittee mark-up to re-instate the cap legislatively on capacity release and cap transportation rates to the border. However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also is seeking industry comments on whether to reimpose its the rate caps on short-term released capacity.

Battling a moves to re-impose the cap on prices paid in the secondary transportation market to California, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) went on record last week opposing an attempt by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-VA, in a subcommittee mark-up to re-instate the cap legislatively on capacity release and cap transportation rates to the border.

Energy officials yesterday urged Congress to clear away the regulatory, legislative, tax and rate-related hurdles that are holding up construction of much-needed new power transmission and natural gas transportation facilities to serve the nation’s expanding energy appetite.

In the absence of any definitive regulatory or legislative moves as yet to implement a three-week-old memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the governor, Southern California Edison officials Tuesday acknowledged that creditors and other parts of the financial community are afraid the utility will join the state’s other major investor-owned utility, Pacific Gas and Electric, in bankruptcy court.

As tempers continue to get shorter in the midst of California’senergy predicament, the state’s two major investor-owned utilitiesbutted heads this week on a natural gas issue created as anoffshoot of the persistent electricity woes in the state. Itinvolves Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s emergency filing to stateregulators Jan. 18 asking for Southern California Gas Co. to giveit some supplies in the face of its looming shortages, promptingSoCalGas to protest the request.

Two retail marketer bankruptcies in Georgia and the legislativeand regulatory retrenchment in California should take most of theblame for the slowdown in gas deregulation nationwide, according toMarie Lihn, principal economic analysis manager for the GasTechnology Institute (GTI) (see related stories this issue). Anationwide preoccupation with electric restructuring has not helpedthe gas cause either, she said in an interview regarding a new GTIstudy on gas deregulation.

Two retail marketer bankruptcies in Georgia and the legislativeand regulatory retrenchment in California should take most of theblame for the slowdown in gas deregulation nationwide, according toMarie Lihn, principal economic analysis manager for the GasTechnology Institute (GTI). A nationwide preoccupation withelectric restructuring has not helped the cause either, she said inan interview regarding a new GTI study on gas deregulation.

After almost 18 months of detailed proceedings and negativelegislative signals, California regulators have pulled backsubstantially from original proposals to unbundle the state’snatural gas industry along the lines of the state’s electricderegulation.

After almost 18 months of detailed proceedings and negativelegislative signals, California regulators have pulled backsubstantially from original proposals to unbundle the state’snatural gas industry along the lines of its electric deregulation.