Meetings

Calling it one of the most important annual meetings that the company has had in its history, Aquila CEO Richard Green Jr. started out by offering an apology to shareholders for the company’s poor performance. Over the past few years, Aquila shareholders have seen the stock price plummet over 90% and their dividends cut to the point of elimination.

Following two days of meetings that concluded late Thursday, the board of directors of Reliant Energy Inc. voted to remove Steve Letbetter as chairman and CEO of the regulated business, which is undergoing a name change to CenterPoint Energy. Once set to become the non-executive chairman of CenterPoint, he also stepped down from the board of directors.

Following two days of meetings that concluded late Thursday, the board of directors of Reliant Energy Inc. voted to remove Steve Letbetter as chairman and CEO of the regulated business, which is undergoing a name change to CenterPoint Energy. Once set to become the non-executive chairman of CenterPoint, he also stepped down from the board of directors.

Undeterred by the combination of telecommunications and energy industry financial meltdowns this year, an affiliate of San Diego-based Sempra Energy still expects a slow but steady growth in its seven-patent-ending “fiber links” technology for threading fiber optic cable through natural gas distribution pipeline mains and service lines in dense urban commercial and suburban residential areas. The president and several other senior executives with Sempra Fiber Links were in Portland, OR, Monday at a national meeting of state regulators, pitching their system as being a fast, safe, less costly and environmentally more benign means of bringing fiber optics to commercial and residential areas that are among more than 90% of the nation that is still dependent on copper phone wires.

Aquila has scheduled three informational meetings on the open season that began earlier this month for its recently purchased Red Lake Gas Storage facility in Mohave County, AZ (see Daily GPI, Feb. 7). They will be held Feb. 27 in Los Angeles, Feb. 28 in Phoenix and March 1 in Houston. Reservations can be made via e-mail to Barbara Schulle (bschulle@utilicorp.com) or by phoning (713) 336-7493. For more information, call Mark D. Cook at (816) 527-1369 or visit the http://www.aquila.com/redlake web site.

Making himself a domestic energy diplomat moving betweenmeetings in Washington, DC, and the West, Energy Secretary BillRichardson last week supported the need for a western regionalwholesale power price cap as he extended for another week hisearlier emergency order requiring generators and marketers to makepower available to the continuing tight California market to avoidthe threat of rolling blackouts. The order, which was first issuedon Dec. 14, expired Tuesday at midnight. The new order will remainin effect until Dec. 27, unless modified.

With the initial phase (regional meetings) of the formation ofregional transmission organizations (RTOs) wrapped up, FERCChairman James Hoecker last week gave the electric industry a”solid B” for its efforts. There haven’t been any “breakthroughs”yet, he reported, just “frank talk….. and widespread commitmentsto continue working toward a productive conclusion.”

With phase one (regional meetings) of the formation of regionaltransmission organizations (RTOs) wrapped up, FERC Chairman JamesHoecker gave the electric industry a “solid B” for its efforts sofar. There haven’t been any “breakthroughs” yet, he reported, just”frank talk….. and widespread commitments to continue workingtoward a productive conclusion.”

El Paso Energy and The Coastal Corp. announced through a jointproxy statement mailed Friday that special meetings of stockholderswill be held May 5 in Houston to vote on the proposed combinationof the two companies. Stockholders of record on March 17 will beeligible to vote. The merger was announced Jan. 18.