Recent

The recent approval of a second license to export domestic liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-free trade agreement (FTA) nations includes language that supports the disputed exports as being in the public interest, Sempra Energy CEO Debra Reed said at an investor conference Thursday in New York City.

There will be no quick remedy for restarting one of the units at idled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) in Southern California following a recent decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB) that a public hearing will be required on a request from SONGS’s operator Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) to partially restart Unit 2. This follows utility warnings that without a restart this year of the one unit, a decision may have to be made by the end of this year on whether SONGS will be retired (see Daily GPI, May 2). There is now a 25-day period for appeal of the board’s decision. As the largest baseload source of electric generation in Southern California with 2,200 MW, the loss of SONGS would require other types of generation, including more natural gas-fired capacity and various efficiency programs, particularly in the summer (see Daily GPI, March 26; Feb. 28). SCE, which is the majority owner/operator of SONGS, had been hoping to obtain swift approval to restart at 70% capacity Unit 2. Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas and Electric Co. owns 20% of SONGS and a Riverside, CA, municipal utility holds about 3%.

Offshore activity continues to grow as development begins on a slate of recent discoveries, a sharp contrast to onshore operators, whose “attitude was rather somber,” according to analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc., who shared their takeaways from the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) held earlier this month in Houston.

Offshore activity continues to grow as development begins on a slate of recent discoveries, a sharp contrast to onshore operators, whose “attitude was rather somber,” according to analysts with Raymond James & Associates Inc., who shared their takeaways from last week’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston.

TransCanada Corp.’s first quarter earnings were positively impacted by the recent decision by Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) on the company’s Mainline restructuring proposal, the company said Friday. TransCanada also pushed back the in-service date of its long-delayed Keystone XL oil pipeline to late 2015 from the previously planned late 2014/early 2015 due to regulatory delays.

FERC is still studying strategies to coordinate the natural gas and electricity markets, but one idea floated at a recent technical conference — splitting East and West gas days — isn’t getting great reviews from some gas industry officials.

FERC is still studying strategies to coordinate the natural gas and electricity markets, but one idea floated at a recent technical conference — splitting East and West gas days — isn’t getting great reviews from some gas industry officials.

FERC does not intend to appeal a recent court finding that the agency lacks jurisdiction over natural gas futures transactions, said Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff last week.

FERC does not intend to appeal a recent court finding that the agency lacks jurisdiction over natural gas futures transactions, said Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff.