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If you haven’t sent in one last wish list to the congressional energy bill conferees, you should be aware time is running out. E-mail advisories were flying Thursday when it became apparent the energy bill steamroller was powered up and targeted for completion by next week and the last word on natural gas provisions could well be this weekend or Monday.

FERC staff said Friday that an incorrect e-mail attachment sent by a “clerk” at Dominion Transmission to weekly storage surveyors at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) led to the erroneous storage report last month and subsequent jump in futures prices. FERC staff estimates the error and price run-up cost U.S. consumers $200 million to $1 billion in their December cost of gas.

FERC staff said Friday that an incorrect e-mail attachment sent by a “clerk” at Dominion Transmission to weekly storage surveyors at the Energy Information Administration (EIA) led to the erroneous storage report last month and subsequent jump in futures prices. FERC staff estimates the error and price run-up cost U.S. consumers $200 million to $1 billion.

Even before final court and federal regulatory actions finalize last month’s El Paso Corp. natural gas settlement with four western states and various local government, utility and citizen class action attorneys, Nevada’s state consumer advocate told local news media he thinks Nevada Power Co. retail customers should gets checks for about $23 apiece for their share of the eventual settlement pay-out by the Houston-based energy firm.

The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) began bringing up its external web site and e-mail systems in stages last Wednesday after a federal court in Washington, DC, gave the agency the green light to re-establish Internet connections and resume operations. The MMS said it expects to have its web page fully restored and updated by the first part of this week.