Voted

The Senate Banking Committee voted out legislation overhauling the financial reform in less than a half hour late Monday. The measure has drawn fire from the energy industry for its failure to provide end-users, such as industrial consumers and producers, with an exemption from the proposed clearing and trading requirements for the nearly $500 trillion over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market.

The board of directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) voted out resolutions last Wednesday supporting financial reform legislation that carves out an exemption from mandatory clearing requirements for legitimate hedging activities in natural gas and electricity markets, and clearly spells out the exclusive jurisdiction of FERC in regional electricity markets.

The board of directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) voted out resolutions Wednesday supporting financial reform legislation that would carve out an exemption from mandatory clearing requirements for legitimate hedging activities in natural gas and electricity markets, and would clearly spell out the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in regional electricity markets.

The board of directors of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) voted out resolutions Wednesday supporting financial reform legislation that would carve out an exemption from mandatory clearing requirements for legitimate hedging activities in natural gas and electricity markets, and would clearly spell out the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in regional electricity markets.

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) last Tuesday voted to deny a Florida Power & Light Co. (FP&L) proposal to construct a 300-mile intrastate pipeline to move natural gas north to Bradford County from Palm Beach County and ordered the project to be rebid.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) approved a $77.8 million refund for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania customers. The PUC voted 5-0 to approve the refunds to residential, commercial and industrial customers who received service between Oct. 1, 2008 and Sept. 30, 2009. The amount received by each customer will vary depending on usage. According to Columbia’s filing, the overcollection resulted from a large, sustained reduction in gas prices, which occurred after Columbia had filed its quarterly adjustment. Those customers will receive a one-time credit on their bills during the November billing cycle. Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania serves about 413,000 customers in 26 Pennsylvania counties.

The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) Tuesday voted to deny a Florida Power & Light Co. (FP&L) proposal to construct a 280-mile intrastate pipeline to move natural gas north to Bradford County from Palm Beach County and ordered the project to be rebid.

The five-member Clatsop County Commission voted 4-1 Thursday to reaffirm its approval of NorthernStar Natural Gas’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal along the Columbia River 18 miles east of Astoria, OR. The elected county leaders reiterated a vote Dec. 13, 2007 to approve land-use changes sought by NorthernStar and the county’s conditions for approval.

The House Appropriations Committee last Tuesday voted out a $33.3 billion spending bill promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and electricity grid modernization programs in fiscal year (FY) 2010. Oil and natural gas were given short shrift.