Order

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) has approved an order that helps defray higher summer electricity costs with more than $2.7 million in fuel cost credits for Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. (OG&E) ratepayers. The customer credit amounts to 0.000138 cents per kilowatt hour or an average of 13.8 cents per month for the average residential electricity user’s bill. The customer credit is part of a stipulated agreement worked out between the OCC public utility division staff, OG&E, the state attorney general and Oklahoma Industrial Energy Consumers that applies to cost recovery for gas transportation savings that result from competitive bidding. Each OG&E customer will start seeing the credit with the July billing cycle and continue to receive it until amended by the company at the direction of the Commission.

A new study urges ISO New England Inc. to continuously monitor generator unit availability to price and demand in order to ensure adequate market signals are in place to encourage sufficient generator availability during peak load periods. The same study, unveiled last Friday, also recommends that the ISO devote future monitoring efforts to the performance of new combined-cycle units, some of which have experienced poor availability.

U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn O. Silver issued an order last week dismissing federal and Arizona Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) allegations made by Southern Union Co. against Southwest Gas Corp. The court also dismissed federal and state RICO allegations that Southern Union brought against Southwest’s Chairman Thomas Hartley, CEO Michael Maffie and Edward Zub, executive vice president/consumer resources and energy services.

U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn O. Silver issued an order last week dismissing federal and Arizona Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) allegations made by Southern Union Co. against Southwest Gas Corp. The court also dismissed federal and state RICO allegations that Southern Union brought against Southwest’s Chairman Thomas Hartley, CEO Michael Maffie and Edward Zub, executive vice president/consumer resources and energy services.

Pacific Gas & Electric declared an extremely stringent systemwide Stage 3 high-inventory OFO for Saturday. The order had zero tolerance for positive daily imbalances and carried penalties of $5/Dth.

A group representing qualifying facility (QF) generators last week called on FERC to immediately order California’s two troubled investor-owned utilities to provide “interconnection, scheduling, transmission and related services” to QF plants in California, and to “cease and desist” from carrying out actions that are blocking sales of QF power.

A group representing qualifying facility (QF) generators has called on FERC to immediately order California’s two troubled investor-owned utilities to provide “interconnection, scheduling, transmission and related services” to QF plants in California, and to “cease and desist” from carrying out actions that are blocking sales of QF power.

In order to repair a mainline fitting at the Stanfield (OR) CityTap, PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest (GTN) will isolate itsA-Line between Main Line Valves 8-2.5 and 8-3.0 for about 16 hoursThursday. Capacity at points downstream of MLV 8-3.0 will bereduced about 70 MMcf/d to 2,000 MMcf/d. Based on current flowconditions, GTN estimated Station 14 immediately upstream fromMalin will experience a capacity cut from 1,940 MMcf/d to 1,875MMcf/d. Every effort will be made to return the system to fullcapacity by Friday’s gas day, GTN said.

As one of his first acts as president, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM)has called on President George W. Bush to order the three federalagencies that have jurisdiction over U.S. energy supply to craftcoordinated policies to address the energy crisis facing thenation.