Ongoing

If the ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) uncovers irregularities by the once-mighty and now-bankrupt Enron Corp., the lead accountant for the agency assured House lawmakers Wednesday that it will deal “swiftly and completely with any wrongdoers.”

To aid in the ongoing investigation into the financial collapse of energy giant Enron Corp., Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and James Greenwood (R-PA) have asked Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Harvey Pitt to provide the House Energy and Commerce Committee with all of the reviews and records associated with Enron’s accounting practices and filings since 1997. Tauzin is chairman of the committee and Greenwood is chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Coming down firmly on the side of generators in California’s ongoing energy wars, FERC last Wednesday ordered the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to enforce the creditworthiness requirement of its open access tariff and previous orders issued by the Commission within 15 days. The Commission said that it was taking this step in order to ensure timely payment of Cal-ISO’s energy suppliers.

“It’s the natural gas, stupid!” That is a refrain–spoken or implied–that ran throughout California’s ongoing electricity debates in both the legislature and among regulators as state officials scrambled last week to pave the way for bringing stability back to the state electricity industry.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. took two significant steps in its ongoing federal bankruptcy proceedings last week, while its holding company, PG&E Corp., was being targeted by the California Attorney General for federal investigation of possible misappropriations of funds between the parent company and the financially troubled utility.

While speaking about the ongoing energy crisis in California on Friday at the Commonwealth Club of California in San Francisco, Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling was hit in the face with a pie from a protester who was then quickly removed from the building. Skilling reportedly unphased, wiped the pie from his face and commented “People in California are angry, and they should be.” He then continued on with his speech, blaming California’s regulators for the energy crisis in the state. Enron, along with numerous other energy companies have come under the spotlight after recent accusations made by Gov. Gray Davis and state officials implied that the companies forced electricity prices higher by holding back supply.

FERC’s plan to impose a (price and volume) reporting requirement on transporters and sellers into the California natural gas market (RM01-9) has drawn mixed reactions from industry, but most agree that the Commission was pressed by Congress to take this action.

Under an ongoing partnering agreement, Calpine Corp., the voracious San Jose, CA-based power plant developer, and a part of the venerable San Francisco-based international infrastructure builder, Bechtel, applied to the California Energy Commission to build and operate a 600 MW natural gas-fired power plant in the East San Francisco Bay town of Hayward.

Under an ongoing partnering agreement, Calpine Corp., the voracious San Jose, CA-based power plant developer, and a part of the venerable San Francisco-based international infrastructure builder, Bechtel, applied to the California Energy Commission Wednesday to build and operate a 600 MW natural gas-fired power plant in the East San Francisco Bay town of Hayward.