Signaled

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has signaled that he cannot revisit his decision to shelve 77 oil and natural gas leases near national parks in Utah until Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) releases his hold on agency nominees.

President Obama signaled his support for expanded oil and natural gas drilling on the the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) during a White House meeting with Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee Tuesday.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signaled Friday that he cannot revisit his decision to shelve 77 oil and natural gas leases near national parks in Utah until Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) releases his hold on agency nominees.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) signaled she would oppose any attempt by the Democratic leadership to possibly merge energy legislation and a cap-and-trade bill on the Senate floor this year. Lumping two very controversial pieces of legislation into a single-bill strategy will make final passage very difficult, said the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The energy bill is expected to address a number of contentious issues, including federal siting of electric transmission facilities, drilling in the previously banned areas of the Outer Continental Shelf and a renewable energy standard (see NGI, March 9). Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has indicated that energy and cap-and-trade legislation should be dealt with separately. Cap-and-trade “[is] not as ready for prime time in my opinion,” he said. Murkowski said she and her staff are working in a bipartisan fashion with Bingaman and his staff on a comprehensive energy bill that they hope to mark up by the end of March.

California chief utility regulator Michael Peevey signaled Thursday that he will attempt to have the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) investigate the status of executive compensation at the state’s major private-sector utilities, which are all among the nation’s largest.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) Friday signaled that she would oppose any attempt by the Democratic leadership to possibly merge energy legislation and a cap-and-trade bill on the Senate floor this year.

Saying its latest electric utility rate increase could have been two or three times bigger, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) signaled last week that some recent moderation in wholesale natural gas prices allowed it to lower the increase to 6%, or $645 million. Effective Oct. 1, the lower rate hike is a sign that another power rate hike next year might be avoided, according to Tom Bottorff, senior vice president, regulatory relations.

Saying its latest electric utility rate increase could have been two or three times bigger, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) signaled Wednesday that some recent moderation in wholesale natural gas prices allowed it to lower the increase to 6%, or $645 million. Effective Wednesday, the lower rate hike is a sign that another power rate hike next year might be avoided, according to Tom Bottorff, senior vice president, regulatory relations.

Democratic presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has signaled that he would be open to allowing drilling off certain coastal states as part of a larger compromise on energy policy, a shift in his position against repeal of the congressional ban on oil and natural gas activity in much of the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).