Wholesale

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld FERC’s authority to regulate pricing for demand response through wholesale electricity markets, overturning a previous decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

A Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) order issued last year that required utilities to enter into long-term power supply contracts with a developer chosen by the PSC to build a natural gas-fired plant was invalidated by a U.S. District Court judge Monday.

Natural gas prices for electric generation in California last year decreased 30%, but overall wholesale power prices decreased only 2% for the year because of offsetting lower hydro-electric supplies, increased congestion and the loss of 2,000 MW of nuclear generation for the year, according to an annual market report released Monday by the state grid operator.

With its natural gas and power unit showing red ink in the face of historically low wholesale gas and electricity prices, Sempra Energy is in the process of exiting the merchant power sector where it has been selling off nonrenewable assets, CEO Debra Reed said Tuesday during a quarterly earnings conference call with financial analysts.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) cut rates for the three major investor-owned natural gas utilities in the state, responding to the continuing low wholesale prices for gas. The new rates take effect Thursday. Portland, OR-based NW Natural, which separately received a small general rate hike, its first in 10 years (see Daily GPI, Oct. 31), will cut its rates by 6.9%, or about $4.36/month for a typical residential customer. Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities customers will see rates drop 7.7%, or on average about $4.78/month for residential customers. MDU Resources Group’s Kennewick, WA-based Cascade Natural Gas Corp. rates were cut 17.3%, or a decrease on average of $9.79/month for a residential customer. A purchased gas adjustment allows the PUC to have the gas utilities adjust their rates up or down annually to reflect changes in the average price of gas supplies the utilities purchase on the interstate market.

Two major electricity grid operators, which together coordinate the movement of wholesale electricity in 14 of the nation’s most populated states and the District of Columbia, have agreed to a long-term strategy that includes a call for development of a shared understanding of regional natural gas delivery constraints on power generation.

South Jersey Energy has bought the retail marketing book of Pennsylvania customers from CenterPoint Energy Services, acquiring “a strong book of business that fits well with its northeast footprint,” South Jersey said. The more than 1,000 commercial and industrial customers acquired are primarily retail natural gas sales within the utility service areas of UGI, Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, PECO Energy and Equitable.”This sale was made possible by significant changes in Pennsylvania’s competitive landscape,” South Jersey said. “Natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale has expanded dramatically, and the state’s electricity market is fully deregulated. This market supports [parent company South Jersey’s Industries’] existing wholesale gas sales efforts in the Marcellus Shale.”

There is a need for a single “rulebook” to analyze alleged market manipulations in the wholesale electricity and natural gas markets of the United States and European Union (EU), according to a pair of economists with The Brattle Group, who propose an economic framework that they say would assist compliance efforts by distinguishing behavior that is patently manipulative and identifying safe harbors for legitimate trading.

There is a need for a single “rulebook” to analyze alleged market manipulations in the wholesale electricity and natural gas markets of the United States and European Union (EU), according to a pair of economists with The Brattle Group, who propose an economic framework that they say would assist compliance efforts by distinguishing behavior that is patently manipulative and identifying safe harbors for legitimate trading.