----- Forwarded by Jeff Dasovich/NA/Enron on 05/29/2001 05:56 PM -----

	Jeff Dasovich
	Sent by: Jeff Dasovich
	05/29/2001 04:37 PM
		 
		 To: Alan Comnes/PDX/ECT@ECT, Angela Schwarz/HOU/EES@EES, Beverly 
Aden/HOU/EES@EES, Bill Votaw/HOU/EES@EES, Brenda Barreda/HOU/EES@EES, Carol 
Moffett/HOU/EES@EES, Cathy Corbin/HOU/EES@EES, Chris H Foster/HOU/ECT@ECT, 
Christina Liscano/HOU/EES@EES, Craig H Sutter/HOU/EES@EES, Dan 
Leff/HOU/EES@EES, Debora Whitehead/HOU/EES@EES, Dennis Benevides/HOU/EES@EES, 
Don Black/HOU/EES@EES, Dorothy Youngblood/HOU/ECT@ECT, Douglas 
Huth/HOU/EES@EES, Edward Sacks/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Eric Melvin/HOU/EES@EES, 
Erika Dupre/HOU/EES@EES, Evan Hughes/HOU/EES@EES, Fran Deltoro/HOU/EES@EES, 
Gayle W Muench/HOU/EES@EES, Ginger Dernehl/NA/Enron@ENRON, Gordon 
Savage/HOU/EES@EES, Harold G Buchanan/HOU/EES@EES, Harry 
Kingerski/NA/Enron@ENRON, Iris Waser/HOU/EES@EES, James D 
Steffes/NA/Enron@ENRON, James W Lewis/HOU/EES@EES, James Wright/Western 
Region/The Bentley Company@Exchange, Jeff Messina/HOU/EES@EES, Jeremy 
Blachman/HOU/EES@EES, Jess Hewitt/HOU/EES@EES, Joe Hartsoe/Corp/Enron@ENRON, 
Karen Denne/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Kathy Bass/HOU/EES@EES, Kathy 
Dodgen/HOU/EES@EES, Ken Gustafson/HOU/EES@EES, Kevin Hughes/HOU/EES@EES, 
Leasa Lopez/HOU/EES@EES, Leticia Botello/HOU/EES@EES, Mark S 
Muller/HOU/EES@EES, Marsha Suggs/HOU/EES@EES, Marty Sunde/HOU/EES@EES, 
Meredith M Eggleston/HOU/EES@EES, Michael Etringer/HOU/ECT@ECT, Michael 
Mann/HOU/EES@EES, Michelle D Cisneros/HOU/ECT@ECT, mpalmer@enron.com, Neil 
Bresnan/HOU/EES@EES, Neil Hong/HOU/EES@EES, Paul Kaufman/PDX/ECT@ECT, Paula 
Warren/HOU/EES@EES, Richard L Zdunkewicz/HOU/EES@EES, Richard 
Leibert/HOU/EES@EES, Richard Shapiro/NA/Enron@ENRON, Rita 
Hennessy/NA/Enron@ENRON, Roger Yang/SFO/EES@EES, Rosalinda 
Tijerina/HOU/EES@EES, Sandra McCubbin/NA/Enron@ENRON, Sarah 
Novosel/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Scott Gahn/HOU/EES@EES, Scott Stoness/HOU/EES@EES, 
Sharon Dick/HOU/EES@EES, skean@enron.com, Tanya Leslie/HOU/EES@EES, Tasha 
Lair/HOU/EES@EES, Ted Murphy/HOU/ECT@ECT, Terri Greenlee/NA/Enron@ENRON, Tim 
Belden/HOU/ECT@ECT, Tony Spruiell/HOU/EES@EES, Vicki Sharp/HOU/EES@EES, 
Vladimir Gorny/HOU/ECT@ECT, Wanda Curry/HOU/EES@EES, William S 
Bradford/HOU/ECT@ECT, Kathryn Corbally/Corp/Enron@ENRON, Jubran 
Whalan/HOU/EES@EES, triley@enron.com, Richard B Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT, Robert C 
Williams/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Greg Wolfe/HOU/ECT@ECT, James 
Wright/Western Region/The Bentley Company@Exchange, Dirk vanUlden/Western 
Region/The Bentley Company@Exchange, Steve Walker/SFO/EES@EES, Jennifer 
Rudolph/HOU/EES@EES, Martin Wenzel/SFO/HOU/EES@EES, Douglas 
Condon/SFO/EES@EES, wgang@enron.com, Scott Govenar <sgovenar@govadv.com>, 
Hedy Govenar <hgovenar@govadv.com> @ ENRON, jklauber@llgm.com, Mike D 
Smith/HOU/EES@EES, John Neslage/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Janel 
Guerrero/Corp/Enron@Enron, Eric Letke/DUB/EES@EES, Richard B 
Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT, gfergus@brobeck.com, Michael Tribolet/ENRON@enronXgate, 
Robert Frank/NA/Enron@Enron, Richard B Sanders/HOU/ECT@ECT, 
gfergus@brobeck.com, Susan J Mara/NA/Enron@ENRON, Chris Holmes/HOU/EES@EES
		 cc: 
		 Subject: Appeal court ruling on Burton-Hertzberg


----- Forwarded by Jeff Dasovich/NA/Enron on 05/29/2001 04:35 PM -----

	"Costigan, Richard" <Richard.Costigan@asm.ca.gov>
	05/29/2001 04:32 PM
		 
		 To: 
		 cc: 
		 Subject: Appeal court ruling on Burton-Hertzberg


Appeals court declines to order energy price caps


Updated: May 29, 2001 - 12:22 p.m. 
SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal appeals court declined Tuesday to order federal
energy regulators to cap wholesale electricity prices. 

The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
came hours before California Gov. Gray Davis was to urge President Bush in
Century City to cap wholesale power costs, which have been spiraling out of
control. 

The panel, in a brief statement, said last week's appeal by state Senate
President John Burton and state Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg does not
warrant "intervention of this court." 

The lawmakers, both Democrats, were joined by the city of Oakland in their
appeal to the 9th Circuit. 

"The citizens of California are suffering immediate irreparable harm as a
result of FERC's abrogation of its duty to establish just and reasonable
rates for electricity," they wrote to the 9th Circuit, which has
jurisdiction over FERC. 

The lawmakers said California's looming threat of continued blackouts "are
an imminent threat to the health, welfare and safety of every California
citizen." 

The suit came after more than a year of wholesale power prices reaching
historically high levels. In December, prices in California reached $200 per
megawatt hour -- and they have skyrocketed to as much as $1,900 per megawatt
hour during peak times since then. 

The Bush administration ardently opposes price caps and President Bush has
declined Davis' requests to urge FERC to impose strict caps. 

Vice President Dick Cheney, chief architect of the administration's energy
plan, has said capping prices would not increase energy supplies or reduce
demand. 

"We get politicians who want to go out and blame somebody and allege there
is some kind of conspiracy ... instead of dealing with the real issues,"
Cheney has said. 

Cheney criticized Davis, a Democrat, for what he called a "harebrained
scheme" to use the state's budget surplus to buy power because California's
two largest utilities face enormous financial problems. 

For the short term, the Bush administration has approved Davis' request to
expedite permits for new power plants and has ordered federal facilities in
California to reduce energy consumption 10 percent this summer. 

Sacramento and the White House appear locked in a high-voltage war of
rhetoric over energy policies. There is broad bipartisan dissatisfaction in
Sacramento with Washington's response to California's energy crisis -- the
result of its own 1996 deregulation rules. 

Last month FERC did order a one-year cap on electricity sold into California
during power emergencies, when power reserves fall below 7 1/2 percent. The
agency did not set a price and also required the state to join a regional
transmission organization, which could limit California's ability to control
its own power grid. 

Davis called the plan a "Trojan horse," and state power regulators dismissed
the cap as inadequate, saying it would profit power generators at
ratepayers' expense. 

In addition, Davis and state lawmakers sharply criticized FERC for
considering requiring the state's power grid operator to add a surcharge on
power sales to pay generators the money they are owed by the state's two
large financially strapped utilities. 

The case is Burton v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 01-70812. 

-- Associated Press 

Richard Costigan, III
Chief of Staff
Office of the Assembly Republican Leader 
California State Assembly
Phone:(916) 319-2005