Solutions

On the surface, a straightforward purchase of California’s second merchant underground natural gas storage facility is taking on major policy implications. It could provide a view next week of just how hard-and-fast the split is between pro-market and pro-enforcement regulators at the state regulatory commission.

Given the lack of widely agreed-to solutions and an increase in disagreements among parties, anticipation will be high and expectations low this week in California’s complicated political and regulatory energy landscape that promises to heat up with the return of the state legislature and a crucial business meeting of the state regulatory commission.

With the convergence of regulatory, political and financial solutions for California’s investor-owned utilities heating up Monday in the state legislature and regulatory halls, questions about additional retail rate increases are being raised. Officials with Gov. Gray Davis are going out of their way to squash the notion that any more increases are imminent, on heels of 40% hikes earlier this year that just became effective in June.

As the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prepared to weigh inthis morning with the federal government’s answer to California’sbe-deviled power market, free market advocates issued last minutewarnings against taking the price cap route espoused by theCal-ISO. FERC’s meeting is scheduled to start at 9 AM EST. (Checkhttp://intelligencepress.com this morning for updates)

Schlumberger Ltd. is acquiring a majority interest in ConvergentGroup Corp., a digital company offering companies Internetsolutions, for $276 million. The merger agreement, which givesSchlumberger 71.7% of Convergent, will result in a new entity,Convergent Holding Corp., and will give Schlumberger a stake in thegrowing global digital economy.

As the western states generally, and California in particular,faced another blast of power-draining summer heat, Duke EnergyNorth America (DENA) last week proposed to California Gov. GrayDavis a combination of long- and short-term new generation and afive-year, fixed-price electricity option to buffer mass consumersfrom electric price volatility.

As the western states generally, and California in particular,faced another blast of power-draining summer heat, Duke EnergyNorth America (DENA) proposed Monday to California Gov. Gray Davisa combination of long- and short-term new generation and afive-year, fixed-price electricity option to buffer mass consumersfrom electric price volatility.

Utilipro Inc., an 80% AGL Resources-owned customer-caresolutions provider, announced yesterday it is cutting staff andreorganizing because energy deregulation is taking hold too slowly.

Altra Energy Technologies Inc. and Junot Systems Inc., anenterprise application integration (EAI) solutions provider, madean alliance to provide gas pipelines with Altra Web as astand-alone GISB-compliant web-based electronic bulletin boardsolution. Altra Web provides compliance with GISB requirements anduses the latest in Internet technology.