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While one part of California’s regulatory structure was giving an expedited okay to 95 more megawatts of power to come on line in late summer, California Public Utilities Commission President Loretta Lynch Thursday was taking a slower, more detailed approach to determine how to spread the 3-cent/kW rate increase that was approved last month for the state’s two largest investor-owned utilities. In separate action, Moody’s Investor Service removed Southern California Edison Co. from further possible downgrades because the deal it struck with the governor last Monday.

California’s backs-to-the-wall regulators today are expected tookay a 90-day surcharge for the state’s two major private-sectorutilities to buy time to complete a more thorough examination ofthe utilities’ request for up to $11 billion in retail rateincreases to be collected over the next two to five years.

California regulators last week approved additionalparticipation by the state’s major private sector electricutilities in the California Power Exchange’s new block-forwardmarkets for ancillary and other services. Normally just a footnote,the action drew considerable attention by the California PublicUtilities Commission’s five governor-appointed members in light ofthe recent power crunch in the state.

FERC has upheld an order approving Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s newtransportation service agreements with six shippers, casting asideproducer arguments that the contracts included negotiated terms andconditions and raised right-of-first-refusal (ROFR) issues.

Using results from their latest Y2K survey as proof, the NaturalGas Council and the American Petroleum Institute (API) deemed theirworking group, formed to spur on Y2K readiness throughout the oiland gas industries, a success. With over two months to go, 93% ofthe oil and gas companies surveyed said their embedded systems areready for the Year 2000 and the rest expect to be done soon,leaders of the working group said at the National Press Club inWashington D.C. yesterday.

Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) extended its lead in the crowdedrace to serve the expanding gas-fired power generation market inFlorida this week when FERC staff issued draft environmentalapproval for its Phase IV mainline expansion.