Moved

With the retirement of its last diesel buses, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) moved to 100% clean-fuel buses Wednesday, the first major city transit system in the nation to do so. All but a handful of the buses run on compressed natural gas (CNG).

With the retirement of its last diesel buses, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) moved to 100% clean-fuel buses Wednesday, the first major city transit system in the nation to do so. All but a handful of the buses run on compressed natural gas (CNG).

Chief Gathering LLC, a subsidiary of Chief Oil & Gas, has been fined $34,000 and has agreed to surrender a discharge permit for operations in four counties in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale area after “illegally discharging hydrostatic testing water at a pipeline project” in Lycoming County, PA, the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said.

Due to cold weather having moved into its market area and based on anticipated demand, Southern projected that storage withdrawal requirements would exceed its capability starting Monday, and thus it implemented an OFO Type 6 for short imbalances that day until further notice. The OFO was extended through at least Tuesday, and Southern said it was “highly likely” that it will remain in place for short imbalances through Friday.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday moved to fill two upcoming vacancies on the five-member California Energy Commission (CEC), naming a veteran energy policy expert and a scientist with experience at the state air pollution regulatory agency that sites electric generation plants. The appointments of Robert Weisenmiller, 61, and Anthony Eggert, 37, require confirmation by the state Senate.

Citing lows in the 30s and 40s that had moved into Florida, Florida Gas Transmission notified market-area customers that it was issuing an Overage Alert Day for Monday with 25% tolerance for negative daily imbalances.

As the House of Representatives moved toward floor debate starting Thursday with a possible vote within a few days on financial reform measures, all the major natural gas and electric power organizations joined in a letter to House members urging that the end-user exemption from mandatory clearing or exchange trading of derivatives or swaps be preserved.

As the U.S. House moved toward debate and a possible vote this week on financial market reform, including moving a large part of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trading onto exchanges, oil and gas producers warned that unless language excluding commercial traders from compulsory clearing is retained, it “would cost the energy industry alone tens of billions of dollars.”

California regulators Friday moved on an expedited basis to address two consumer concerns — one about the veracity of the multi-billion-dollar effort to install utility smart meters statewide, and the second, a high percentage of low-income energy consumers having their service cut off by the state’s major investor-owned energy utilities.