Questions

The federal investigation into Enron Corp.’s numerous special purpose entities (SPE) has stumbled upon the question of whether investors also were misled about the value of the company’s natural gas pipelines and power plants, according to a report in The New York Times Thursday.

A FERC judge’s ruling in an El Paso Natural Gas complaint proceeding last month raises questions about the basis for the Commission’s action in ordering full-requirements (FR) shippers on the El Paso system to convert to contract-demand (CD) service next March, two large FR customers said. They asked FERC for a rehearing on the conversion order in light of the judge’s ruling.

A FERC judge’s ruling in an El Paso Natural Gas complaint proceeding last month raises questions about the basis for the Commission’s action in ordering full-requirements (FR) shippers on the El Paso system to convert to contract-demand (CD) service next March, two large FR customers said. They asked FERC for a rehearing on the conversion order in light of the judge’s ruling.

With construction still ongoing Friday on three of its four major transmission upgrades that will collectively add 375 MMcf/d of capacity on its transmission pipeline system, Southern California Gas Co., Los Angeles, acknowledged its modified implementation plan for its in-state pipeline/storage restructuring will be on track by the fall when crunch time comes. Even so, the detailed steps outlined in a filing with state regulators last month indicated that there will be implementation continuing through next year to fully integrate all parts of what is called the “comprehensive settlement agreement” between the gas utility and its major customer/stakeholders.

With construction still ongoing Friday on three of its four major transmission upgrades that will collectively add 375 MMcf/d of capacity on its transmission pipeline system, Southern California Gas Co., Los Angeles, acknowledged its modified implementation plan for its in-state pipeline/storage restructuring will be on track by the fall when crunch time comes. Even so, the detailed steps outlined in a filing with state regulators last month indicated that there will be implementation continuing through next year to fully integrate all parts of what is called the “comprehensive settlement agreement” between the gas utility and its major customer/stakeholders.

It appears the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission isn’t the only federal agency raising questions about the propriety of emergency loans that were secured by two Enron Corp. pipeline subsidiaries at the time — Northern Natural Gas Co. and Transwestern Pipeline — to help bail out the financially troubled parent company just before it plunged into bankruptcy. The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also have taken an interest, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

FERC Commissioner William Massey last Thursday said that he is “very concerned” that a state-by-state approach to transmission siting is not going to produce the results that the Commission needs as it works to foster the development of wholesale power markets in the U.S. and said that at a minimum, the federal agency should have some sort of backstop authority on the siting of power lines.

In the story “Rush to LNG in Baja Raises Questions About Demand, Infrastructure” published on Thursday, March 7, in the 8th paragraph, note that Sempra’s proposed LNG terminal will be south of Rosarito and north of Ensenada.

The latest announcements for developing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving facilities and related infrastructure in the northern end of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula already has energy planners in the Southwest scratching their heads over where and how the 2.2 Bcf/d already planned — and more in the works — will be transported and consumed. Conventional wisdom says 1 Bcf/d of added capacity — about one and a half projects — centered south of the U.S. border would likely be the maximum volume the market and pipeline infrastructure can handle, according to the California Energy Commission’s leading natural gas planning guru.