Regulators

New Jersey’s largest publicly owned utility has asked stateregulators to give it the green light to begin selling natural gasat market-based rates in 2003.

California regulators have appealed to the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission for help in completing the state’sinvestigation of prices paid in the state’s wholesale electricitymarket this past summer.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was authorized by state regulatorsThursday to borrow an additional $1.4 billion in short-term debt tocover under-collections caused by wholesale power prices exceedingfrozen retail rates the utility is allowed to charge itselectricity customers under the state’s restructuring program.

Regulators can be expected to add more controls on natural gasand power risk management, which will add a layer of complexity anddiscourage new hedging operations, according to two close observersof the industry.

Regulators can be expected to add more controls on natural gasand power risk management, which will add a layer of complexity anddiscourage new hedging operations, according to two close observersof the industry.

Consumers and utilities continued to butt heads in Californialast week over how to deal with almost $5 billion in uncollectedrevenues by the state’s three major investor-owned utilities in thewake of this summer’s wholesale electricity price spikes. Withretail rates frozen the utilities have only collected a portion ofthe added cost of power since May. Consumer activists in SanFrancisco and San Diego last week launched a campaign against theutilities seeking pledges from political candidates throughout thestate to oppose attempts to raise consumer rates to recoverutilities’ costs.

In an effort to ease the pain of deregulation for residentialconsumers, the Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) voted 5-0last week to approve an estimated $40 million residential refundplan that would help ease what are sure to be high gas bills thiscoming winter. The commission also voted to approve a newsculptured tariff for distribution charges instead of the currentflat rate by a vote of four-to-one, with Commissioner Robert Bakerdissenting.

Illinois Power, now a subsidiary of leading marketer DynegyCorp., is changing its game plan, telling regulators it wants todrop out of the more conservative Midwest Independent SystemOperator (MISO) to join the Alliance Regional Transmission Operator(Alliance RTO).

A new study by the INGAA Foundation on gas infrastructurerequirements warns that the government’s current environmentalgoals may not be reached if regulators and legislators don’t startmaking more of an effort to ensure the required gas infrastructurecan be built to serve a 30 Tcf market by 2010.