Political

Political forces and physical problems are at the root of theconstrained California energy market, and because of it, otherstates have slowed their pace toward deregulation and may evendecide to forego it for a while, according to an energy expert whohas helped guide companies through regulatory hearings.

While the political battleground in Florida grew bloodier witheach passing day last week, natural gas pipelines eager to servethe growing market reached a truce agreement of sorts that callsfor Duke Energy and Williams to purchase the proposed GulfstreamNatural Gas System from The Coastal Corp. and ditch their competingBuccaneer Pipeline project for the state.

While the political battleground in Florida grew bloodier witheach passing day last week, natural gas pipelines eager to servethe growing market reached a truce agreement of sorts that callsfor Duke Energy and Williams to purchase the proposed GulfstreamNatural Gas System from The Coastal Corp. and ditch their competingBuccaneer Pipeline project for the state.

Northern pipeline rivalry is taking on political overtones of economic nationalism, with Northwest Territories Premier Stephen Kakfwi calling on industry and government leaders to stand up for Canada by backing a Mackenzie Valley route against the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System.

Aside from the political cries for regulatory actions to provideconsumer electricity rate relief, two days of federal hearingsMonday and Tuesday turned up a wide array of diagnoses andpotential prescriptions for curing what ails California’sstill-convalescing wholesale power market.

The California power debacle, with its political and financialramifications, coupled with high natural gas and heating oil pricesand dire government warnings of even worse prices this winter, hasled to a host of actions by those who deal with retail customersand constituents.

Political repercussions from California’s high-priced heat wavereached all the way to Washington’s White House last week as Gov.Gray Davis asked President Clinton to pressure the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to “accelerate its investigation of wholesaleenergy prices in California.”

Political repercussions from California’s high-priced heat wavereached all the way to the White House last week as Gov. Gray Davisappealed to President Clinton to pressure the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to “accelerate its investigation of wholesaleenergy prices in California.”

If you briefly closed your eyes during a House hearing ondomestic energy policy last week, you would have thought you hadbeen transported back in time to the early 1990s. The cast ofcharacters — former Energy Secretary James D. Watkins and formerCongressman Phil Sharp — were the same, and the issues theyaddressed – opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)to drilling and lifting the offshore moratoria — rang a veryfamiliar tune.