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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will convene a conference in the near future examining issues that have cropped up related to regional transmission organizations (RTOs), Curt Hebert, the Commission’s chairman, said yesterday. Although specifics on the conference remain somewhat sketchy, it appears that the issue of seams in the broader context of RTO formation will be a key topic of discussion at the gathering.

With little or no air-conditioning related demand on the horizon and amid a quickly eroding year-on-year storage deficit, natural gas futures slumped to new 9-month lows Monday as traders pressed the market’s downside yet again. After opening lower, the June contract was hit with a steady procession of commercial and speculative selling that took the market down to a previous low at $4.10 just before the closing bell. Unable to rebound, June closed just off that level at $4.113, down 17.3 cents for the day.

Acknowledging that federal regulators hold most of the trump cards related to lowering natural gas costs, the California legislature nevertheless has produced four bills aimed indirectly at cutting consumer costs by developing more underground storage (AB 78X), producing more in-state gas supplies (AB 73X), eliminating anti-competitive tariffs (AB 23X), and shortening new pipeline permitting processes (AB 42X).

Acknowledging that federal regulators hold most of the trump cards related to lowering natural gas costs, the California legislature nevertheless has produced four bills aimed indirectly at cutting consumer costs by developing more underground storage (AB 78X); producing more in-state gas supplies (AB 73X); eliminating anti-competitive tariffs (AB 23X); and shortening new pipeline permitting processes (AB 42X).

California’s well documented difficulties related to electric restructuring and a sluggish response from consumers to retail electric competition in key parts of the country have not deterred most U.S. electric utilities from continuing to pursue competitive retail plans. The situation has not kept several states from moving forward with restructuring efforts, according to an industry analysis by Chartwell in its new publication, Competition in the Energy Industry, 2001, which was unveiled last week.

FERC last Wednesday accepted parts of a proposal to form RTO West — a hybrid regional transmission organization (RTO) and transco structure for the Pacific Northwest region — as the first step in its plan to create a much larger western-wide RTO in the future. It marked the fifth RTO that the Commission has approved.

FERC late Wednesday accepted parts of a proposal to form RTO West — a hybrid regional transmission organization (RTO) and transco structure for the Pacific Northwest region — as the first step in its plan to create a much larger western-wide RTO in the future. It marked the fifth RTO that the Commission has approved.

California’s well documented difficulties related to electric restructuring and a sluggish response from consumers to retail electric competition in key parts of the country have not deterred most U.S. electric utilities from continuing to pursue competitive retail plans. Nor has it kept several states from moving forward with restructuring efforts, according to an industry analysis by Chartwell included in its new publication, Competition in the Energy Industry, 2001.

CIG said the Strained Operating Condition it had declared for the gas days of Wednesday and Thursday, which was caused by power outages related to blizzard conditions, was lifted Thursday.