Standoff

A standoff between the city of San Francisco and its major private-sector utility, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E), that is preventing the last few miles of outdated cast iron gas pipelines in the city from being replaced has caused state regulators to enter the dispute.

Late Wednesday the Senate appeared ready to end a three-day standoff over consideration of a bill encompassing a sweeping reform of the financial regulatory system and move the measure to the floor for debate. Senate Banking Committee ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama conceded that his negotiations with Chairman Chris Dodd, D-CT, aimed at getting concessions in advance had failed and released his fellow Republicans to vote their conscience.

Late Wednesday the Senate appeared ready to end a three-day standoff over consideration of a bill encompassing a sweeping reform of the financial regulatory system and move the measure to the floor for debate. Senate Banking Committee ranking Republican Richard Shelby of Alabama conceded that his negotiations with Chairman Chris Dodd, D-CT, aimed at getting concessions in advance had failed and released his fellow Republicans to vote their conscience.

As the standoff between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee over climate change legislation entered its second day Wednesday, three senators — each from different parties — announced that they plan to take steps to revive the stalled climate effort.

If President George W. Bush wins a second term, it’s “more likely” the standoff in the Senate over the comprehensive energy bill will be resolved “sooner rather than later,” according to a key gas industry lobbyist. But the White House occupant “is not the pivotal issue” when it comes to passing energy legislation, countered Charles Swab analyst Christine Tezak. The “incredibly thinly divided Senate” is the key factor.

If President George W. Bush wins a second term, it’s “more likely” the standoff in the Senate over the comprehensive energy bill will be resolved “sooner rather than later,” according to a key gas industry lobbyist. But the White House occupant “is not the pivotal issue” when it comes to passing energy legislation, countered Charles Swab analyst Christine Tezak. The “incredibly thinly divided Senate” is the key factor.

End-of-the-year assessments of California’s roller-coaster ride along energy restructuring point to a lack of consensus among the state’s leaders and industry stakeholders about what the state’s future framework for electricity in particular should look like. A report over the holiday week in the Los Angeles Times reported a split between the state’s top regulator and state legislator over who should take the next steps in shaping the state’s energy markets.

After watching the market free-fall 7.1 cents to kick off theweek, bulls dug in their heels Tuesday at Nymex. While they weren’table to recoup much of Monday’s declines, they did prevent anyfurther losses. As a result, the futures market was stagnantyesterday, with the July contract limited to an extremely tight3-cent trading range before settling up 0.1 at $2.238.