Ratepayers

With the acquisition of Cascade Natural Gas Corp., MDU Resources Group Inc. will double its gas utility customers through the addition of Cascade’s Washington and Oregon ratepayers. The deal, announced last week, is worth $26.50/share cash, about $475 million.

With a mission to fend off the development of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in California, a coalition of environmental groups, “Ratepayers for Affordable Clean Energy (RACE),” challenged a nearly year-old natural gas procurement decision by state regulators in a California appeals court Wednesday. RACE is asking that the court overturn the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) decision last year authorizing the state’s major utilities to sign long-term LNG supply contracts.

AGL Resources subsidiary Chattanooga Gas said last week that its utility ratepayers will receive about $1.8 million in benefits from a utility asset management contract with affiliate Sequent Energy Management.

AGL Resources subsidiary Chattanooga Gas said Monday that its utility ratepayers will receive about $1.8 million in benefits from a utility asset management contract with affiliate Sequent Energy Management.

Following on recent business activities of Aquila Inc. (formerly UtiliCorp United Inc.), including a credit rating downgrade by Fitch Ratings, the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) has instituted an investigation to determine the impact of the company’s unregulated businesses on the ability of its jurisdictional utilities to serve the public.

The semi-independent consumer advocacy branch of the California Public Utilities CommissionThursday asked the energy regulators to deny San Diego Gas and Electric $98 million in revenues as a penalty for the utility’s alleged failure to purchase power supplies on a fixed-price, forward contracts basis between July 1, 1999 and Aug. 31, 2000. Most ofwhat the CPUC’s Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) concludes were missed opportunities occurred last summer when wholesale power prices first skyrocketed in the West.

Oklahoma Corporation Commission Chairman Bob Anthony still isnot satisfied that his state’s ratepayers are not getting the shortend of the stick in a 10-year supply contract between OklahomaNatural Gas (ONG) and Dynamic Energy Resources. In a press releaseissued earlier this week, Anthony charges under the contract ONG ispaying 50% more than it should be for some of its gas supply andpassing the cost on to consumers.