Notorious

British Columbia, formerly notorious for erecting rigid regulatory barriers inspired by environmental critics, is now vowing to keep its promise to make its gas-rich northeastern corner more accessible. The BC Oil and Gas Commission is inaugurating a new era of “performance-based” regulation this fall, initially with liberalized procedures for pipeline projects.

British Columbia, formerly notorious for erecting rigid regulatory barriers inspired by environmental critics, is now vowing to keep its promise to make its gas-rich northeastern corner more accessible. The BC Oil and Gas Commission is inaugurating a new era of “performance-based” regulation this fall, initially with liberalized procedures for pipeline projects.

Efforts to relieve the notorious Path 15 transmission bottleneck in California received a boost last Wednesday when FERC signed off on an agreement between the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) and Trans-Elect related to the three entities’ efforts to relieve congestion on the line through transmission upgrades.

If pipelines want the freedom to negotiate competitive deals,they must first get rid of the “most notorious symbol of marketpower” – the straight-fixed variable rate design (SFV) – and offervolumetric rates, Dynegy Marketing and Trade told FERC last week.