Refusing

Refusing to go down without a fight, Salt Lake City-based Questar Corp. said it will pursue available legal and regulatory alternatives in response to a Utah Supreme Court decision on Aug. 1, which rejected the recovery of certain natural gas-processing costs incurred by its retail natural gas distribution subsidiary Questar Gas Co.

Refusing to go down without a fight, Salt Lake City-based Questar Corp. said Sunday that it would pursue available legal and regulatory alternatives in response to a Utah Supreme Court decision on Aug. 1, which rejected the recovery of certain natural gas-processing costs incurred by its retail natural gas distribution subsidiary Questar Gas Co.

Dynegy Inc. said Monday that it plans to “vigorously contest” allegations by a former executive that he was fired for refusing to manipulate the company’s profits and losses in the third quarter of 2000. Bradley Farnsworth, former controller, filed the lawsuit Friday, claiming COO Steve Bergstrom asked him to engage in illegal practices involving natural gas trades in the United Kingdom. The lawsuit does not allege that Dynegy actually manipulated the books, and apparently, Farnsworth does not know if Dynegy had done so.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation last Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

In an ironic twist, the same Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) administrative law judge (ALJ) who had cited Oneok for contempt in May for refusing to turn over documents related to an OCC investigation on Wednesday granted the company’s motion for a stay in the state attorney general’s request that the company be cited for contempt for not turning over the same documents related to natural gas sales made last winter.

FERC is refusing to budge on several key points included in a market monitoring and mitigation plan for California’s sagging energy markets that was unveiled in April. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission re-emphasized its belief that it is important for the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to ensure the presence of a creditworthy buyer for all transactions made with any generator that offers power in compliance with the rules set forth in the mitigation plan.

FERC is refusing to budge from a recent order that directs the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to assure payment for all third-party energy sales made to the state transmission coordinator.

On the heels of a federal judge refusing to force stateregulators to grant immediate rate relief, Southern CaliforniaEdison Tuesday faced some of its major creditors in a conferencecall, looking for more of the same forbearance that generators sofar have extended the cash-starved utility and thesimilarly-situated Pacific Gas and Electric Co.