Practices

Continuing to rally against allegedly unjust practices by Nicor Gas, the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) claims that the utility owes customers $143.3 million in refunds, or about $75 for the average customer, as a result of a complicated scheme the company allegedly embarked on to defraud consumers at a time when they were paying record high gas prices.

After receiving 500 complaints from utility customers about Laclede Gas Co.’s estimated billing practices, the staff of the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) filed a complaint against the company, alleging violations of commission rules and recommending penalties and changes to Laclede’s billing methods.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) decided Tuesday to establish emergency billing practices to create some relief for customers from high natural gas and power costs this winter.

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO), which was formed in 2002 to establish bottom-line standards for energy traders, plans by this summer to establish a best practice financial framework to serve as the foundation for the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) quarterly request for financial data.

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO), which was formed in 2002 to establish bottom-line standards for energy traders, plans by this summer to establish a best practice financial framework to serve as the foundation for the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) quarterly request for financial data.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found no evidence that manipulative trading practices were behind the run-up in gas prices during the cold snap in the New England markets last January, the head of the agency’s Office of Market Oversight and Investigations (OMOI) told a group of state regulators last Monday.

NiSource Inc. Monday debuted a new section of its internet Web site highlighting the company’s extensive corporate governance practices. The NiSource Board of Directors recently approved updated corporate governance guidelines, which are available via the company’s Web site along with NiSource’s code of ethics, business ethics program, biographies of the company’s board members and senior management, organizational documents, board committee membership and charters and other information. The company’s corporate governance guidelines define the systems and processes by which the company ensures appropriate accountability and openness in the conduct of its business. The information is available via the company’s home page, www.nisource.com in the Investor Relations section.

FERC-regulated entities such as pipelines should not be required to file cash management agreements with the Commission, nor should they have to notify FERC when their proprietary equity falls below 30%, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) said in comments on a recently-issued interim rule (see NGI, June 30).

FERC-regulated entities such as pipelines should not be required to file cash management agreements with the Commission, nor should they have to notify FERC when their proprietary equity falls below 30%, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) said in comments on a recently-issued interim rule (see Daily GPI, June 26).