Louder

Dissenting voices both within and outside the state regulatory process got considerably louder recently regarding actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with several billion dollars of impact — a rate case for Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) and an upgrade of the transition to advanced metering for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). Ironically, at this same meeting the CPUC approved nearly $400,000 in compensation to consumer groups and individuals for contributions they have made in past regulatory cases.

Dissenting voices both within and outside the state regulatory process got considerably louder last Thursday regarding actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) with several billion dollars of impact — a rate case for Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) and an upgrade of the transition to advanced metering for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). Ironically, at this same meeting the CPUC approved nearly $400,000 in compensation to consumer groups and individuals for contributions they have made in past regulatory cases.

The drumbeat for a FERC hearing on the proposed mega-merger between Exelon Corp. and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is growing louder by the day. A number of parties last week urged the Commission not to provide rubber stamp approval of the pending deal, which would create a new company, Exelon Electric & Gas (EEG) [EC05-43]. Others went a step further, urging FERC to issue an outright rejection of the merger.

In a refrain that has grown louder and more frequent over the last two years, two large industrial associations urged the federal government last Wednesday to take action that directly addresses high natural gas prices, price volatility and domestic natural gas supply.

In a refrain that has grown louder and more frequent over the last two years, two large industrial associations urged the federal government Wednesday to take action that directly addresses high natural gas prices, price volatility and domestic natural gas supply.

In a refrain that has grown louder and more frequent over the last two years, two large industrial associations urged the federal government Wednesday to take action that directly addresses high natural gas prices, price volatility and domestic natural gas supply.

While it remains unclear what exactly caused last month’s unprecedented blackout in the U.S. and Canada, a wide-ranging group of stakeholders last week said that if Congress is serious about preventing a similar catastrophe from happening again, federal lawmakers must make currently voluntary reliability standards mandatory for the power industry.

A number of senators last Wednesday grilled FERC Chairman Pat Wood on whether his agency has truly listened to concerns voiced by state officials over the Commission’s recently unveiled standard market design (SMD) for U.S. wholesale power markets. One senator went so far as to warn Wood that if the lawmaker isn’t convinced that FERC is genuinely working to respond to SMD-related worries articulated by various regions, he will push to derail the proposal in Congress.

Increased gas and electricity price/supply volatility is musicto the ears of natural gas storage developers, and no one iswhistling louder these days than two firms sinking their investmentdollars into depleted gas fields in California: Western Canada’sAlberta Energy Co., developer of the state’s first merchantunderground storage project, Wild Goose Storage, in a depleted gasreservoir 50 miles north of Sacramento; and Western Hub Properties,the Texas-based developer that will begin construction of thefirst of two new storage projects in the state by the end of March.