Separate

The state Superior Court judge hearing the ongoing class action lawsuit against Sempra Energy and its two utilities will convene a separate hearing Tuesday with attorneys trying to settle a lawsuit filed by California’s Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in the wake of the 2000-2001 western wholesale energy market meltdown.

The state Superior Court judge hearing the ongoing class action lawsuit against Sempra Energy and its two utilities will convene a separate hearing Tuesday with attorneys trying to settle a lawsuit filed by California’s Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante in the wake of the 2000-2001 western wholesale energy market meltdown.

El Paso Corp. on Wednesday completed the sale of its interests in two separate sets of midstream assets located in Louisiana and Texas for a total of $642 million, while Kerr-McGee Corp. sold its 40% stake in one of the plants for $156 million.

In two separate orders implementing provisions of the energy policy act, FERC on Thursday proposed actions aimed at broadening its anti-manipulation reach in the natural gas and electricity markets and outlining its policy for assessing civil penalties. In a third order, the agency proposed a rule giving energy companies the right to challenge the findings of staff operational audits before a final order is issued.

Fort Worth, TX-based Encore Acquisition Co. announced Monday that it has entered into two separate agreements to purchase oil and gas interests and an unnamed oil and gas company from private sellers for approximately $123 million.

Due in part to the arrival of new storm activity in the Atlantic Basin, September natural gas on Monday was off to the races, notching a high of $9.84 two separate times just before 1 p.m. EDT. However, the prompt month was unable to match its $9.91 high from two weeks ago and trailed off later in the afternoon.

TXU Corp. announced the formation of a new corporate structure with separate retail and wholesale divisions on Wednesday and named two new executives to lead the new units. James A. Burke, formerly with Gexa Energy, Reliant and Coca-Cola, was named chairman and CEO of TXU Energy, the retail business, and Michael T. McCall, former president of TXU Gas, was named chairman and CEO of TXU Wholesale, which will optimize the wholesale energy purchases for the company’s power generation and retail operations.

In separate filings submitted to FERC, Duke Power and MidAmerican Energy proposed to implement independent grid coordinator plans. For its part, Duke Power wants the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) to serve as its independent transmission coordinator, while MidAmerican plans to contract with a yet-to-be-determined independent transmission service coordinator (TSC).

Two separate business reports out of Mexico City last week indicated the Mexican federal government may boost energy spending by the equivalent of $2 billion, reaching $10 billion in total this year, and a Green Party bloc in the Mexican Senate has proposed constitutional changes that would allow private sector participation in renewable electric generation projects.