Responses

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) Thursday placed a hold on the nomination for solicitor of the Department of Interior, saying he was frustrated with the nominee’s responses when asked her opinion on the Utah Wilderness Settlement, which removed millions of acres in Utah from wilderness protection and opened them for potential development.

Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) Thursday placed a hold on the nomination of Hilary Tompkins for solicitor of the Department of Interior, saying he was frustrated with her responses to questions about the Utah Wilderness Settlement, which removed millions of acres in Utah from wilderness protection and opened them for potential development.

Regardless of the causes and responses to the global credit crunch, natural gas prices are going to return to double-digit levels during the next 18 months, according to two industry economic experts speaking Tuesday at the LDC Forum Rockies & West Conference in Irvine, CA. The fact the the financial crisis is global in scope ultimately will help pull the world out of it quicker, and energy prices will be quick to rebound, they said.

In responses to pleas it heard earlier in the month from the nonprofit social service sector, the California Public Utilities Commission Thursday approved added protection for qualified low-income utility customers against this winter’s expected high natural gas costs. The CPUC made significant changes to two of the state’s major low-income customer programs.

Overly prescriptive regulatory or legislative action that is meant to remedy manipulative behavior in the energy sector could in the end “chill or kill” the market, warned Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska of the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC) last Thursday.

Overly prescriptive regulatory or legislative action that is meant to remedy manipulative behavior in the energy sector could in the end “chill or kill” the market, warned Commissioner Sharon Brown-Hruska of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Thursday.

Parroting the responses of Dynegy Inc. and Mirant a day earlier, Aquila Inc. and Reliant Resources Inc. on Thursday advised their shareholders to beware of the unsolicited mini-tender offers of Main Street AC, which is seeking to buy 4.9% of all four companies (see Daily GPI, Sept. 5).

The Energy Information Administration’s Roy Kass said proposed changes to the weekly gas storage survey probably won’t be made anytime soon because of the variety and complexity of the comments and the nature of the inquiry.

Due to the number of responses and suggestions regarding FERC’s current online systems, the Commission said that it has issued a notice of intent to modify its Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS), Records Information Management System (RIMS) and its Docket Sheet System.