utilities

Yankee Energy System, part of the Northeast Utilities system, has completed the divestiture of several non-regulated energy development businesses.

Atmos Energy Corp. said it has reached a definitive agreement topay $375 million for the gas operations of two Citizens UtilitiesCo. distribution subsidiaries — Louisiana Gas Service Co. and LGSNatural Gas Co. Atmos said the acquisitions will make it thelargest natural gas distributor in Louisiana with approximately359,000 customers.

Rebecca Armendariz Klein has been tapped to fill the last vacant spot on the Texas Public Utilities Commission by Gov. Rick Perry. Armendariz Klein currently is a consultant with KPMG Consulting and served as general government policy director under George W. Bush when he was governor. She also has worked as a senior attorney for the Texas PUC and as a telecommunications law analyst for the American Enterprise Institute. Perry also announced that Mario Max Yzaguirre, named two weeks ago to the Texas PUC, will become the new chairman of the three-member panel.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) last week issued for comment staff-proposed new rules for competitive retail natural gas service and providers of the service. As a result of amended Ohio Substitute House Bill 9, which was signed into law by Gov. Bob Taft in March, the commission’s authority over gas providers in the state has been significantly expanded (see NGI, May 21).

In response to consumer concerns, the staff of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) released a 32-page report titled “Natural Gas Price Issues in Ohio” to explain why gas prices increased this past winter and to provide possible ways to avoid a recurrence in the future. The study also explained the current problems the competitive gas choice programs are facing in the state and what can be done to right the ship.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) issued for comment on Tuesday staff-proposed rules for competitive retail natural gas service and for providers of the service. In accordance with amended Ohio Substitute House Bill 9, which was signed by Gov. Bob Taft in March, the commission has been given new ruling power over natural gas providers in the state (see Daily GPI, May 17).

A recommended decision by a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge would replace the controversial Residual Load Service (RLS) tariff on Southern California Gas mainlines with a cost-based peaking service (D.00-04-060).

Staff at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) has urged state regulators to reject the pending merger between FirstEnergy Corp. and GPU Inc. on the grounds that the two companies have failed to back up claims that the merger will not harm ratepayers in the Garden State, among other things.

A recommended decision by a California Public Utilities Commission administrative law judge would replace the controversial Residual Load Service (RLS) tariff on Southern California Gas mainlines with a cost-based peaking service (D.00-04-060).