Updated Friday, July 13, 2001 9:33 Pacific Time
Another rate increase -- The California Department of Water Resources, the
agency purchasing a bulk of the state's power needs in lieu of the three
investor-owned utilities, is expected to tell state regulators Friday that
they need to increase electricity rates by as much as 25%. This is because
there are insufficient funds in the current revenue stream to cover a $13.4
billion bond sale, three commissioners with the Public Utilities Commission
told Dow Jones Newswires late Thursday. Jason Leopold; Dow Jones Newswires
<http://www.business.com/directory/energy_and_environment/electric_power_uti
lities/news/full_story/index.asp?uuid=DAC275B5-68A2-4006-AFF5-AD96BF4236EF&s
ource=Dow%20Jones> -- 7/13/01
Judge rejects refunds -- California's claim for $8.9 billion in refunds for
excessive electricity charges "cannot be substantiated," the federal
government's chief energy regulatory judge said yesterday, concluding his
two-week attempt to mediate the California energy dispute. Curtis L. Wagner
Jr., chief judge of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said "very
large refunds" are due the state because of overcharging by generators,
saying the figure would probably amount to more than $1 billion. Peter Behr
in the Washington Post
<http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55580-2001Jul12.html> John
Woolfolk and Steve Johnson in the San Jose Mercury
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/refund13tk.htm> Mike
Taugher in the Contra Costa Times
<http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/california/stories/wagner_20010713.htm
> Toby Eckert in the San Diego Union
<http://www.uniontrib.com/news/uniontrib/fri/news/news_1n13ferc.html> --
7/13/01
Judge spells out opposition to power refund claim -- In a final written
ruling that portrayed California negotiators as obstinate and unwilling to
compromise, the judge who led talks over electricity price refunds said
yesterday the state's claim of $8.9 billion in overcharges "has not and
cannot be substantiated." Three days after negotiations to reach an
agreement ended in failure, Curtis Wagner Jr., the chief administrative law
judge of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said any refund to
California would have to be much less than what state representatives
sought -- and would not come in cash. Christian Berthelsen in the San
Francisco Chronicle
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/13/MN162115.DTL> -
- 7/13/01
Key pieces of power puzzle to be revealed -- Negotiations over two critical
pieces of California's energy crisis - Southern California Edison's
financial stability and the state's ability to pay for its energy
obligations - are coming to a head after months of wrangling. The Assembly
today will see a draft of a plan that would result in huge rate increases
for businesses. John Howard, Hanh Kim Quach and Kate Berry in the Orange
County Register <http://www.ocregister.com/news/rates00713cci.shtml> --
7/13/01
Edison rescue -- A week before its annual summer recess, the California
Legislature remains deeply divided over Gov. Gray Davis' plan to rescue
Southern California Edison from financial ruin--and a growing number of
lawmakers are proposing to let the state's second largest utility fall into
bankruptcy. Convinced that Davis' plan is political suicide, leading
Democrats in the Assembly and Senate on Thursday advanced slimmed-down
alternatives to save Edison. Miguel Bustillo and Nancy Vogel in the Los
Angeles Times
<http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000057386jul13.story?coll=la%2Dheadlin
es%2Dcalifornia> Kevin Yamamura and Emily Bazar in the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert04_20010713.html> -- 7/13/01
Rate hike may hit businesses -- Businesses would be socked with a big rate
increase, while residential rates could hold steady, under the latest plan
to rescue Southern California Edison and resolve major energy matters the
state has been wrangling over since January. The proposal by Assembly
Democrats likely will draw fire from business interests. Rates easily could
triple for some companies. Meantime, the Davis administration was wrapping
up a plan likely to include further rate hikes to pay for $13.4 billion in
borrowing planned this fall. John Howard, Hanh Kim Quach and Kate Berry in
the Orange County Register
<http://www.ocregister.com/news/rates0s0713cci2.shtml> -- 7/13/01
2 sides face off at EPA hearing on regulating energy plant emissions --
Power plants, refineries and factories need relief from federal clean air
laws if they are expected to respond to energy needs during a crisis,
industry officials told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday.
California regulators and environmentalists, on the other hand, said the
federal policy that requires the best available pollution control equipment
to be installed when a new pollution source comes online is absolutely
necessary to protect air quality and health. Jane Kay in the San Francisco
Chronicle
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/13/MN233685.DTL>
Chris Bowman in the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert05_20010713.html> Amy Chance in
the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert07_20010713.html> -- 7/13/01
Plan uses public in refund demand -- The Democratic-led state Senate intends
to fill constituent mailboxes with a taxpayer-financed appeal urging
Californians to demand nearly $9 billion in energy price refunds from
"greedy out-of-state power generators." Senate leader John Burton (D-San
Francisco) said the mailers will ask Californians to join the Senate and
Gov. Gray Davis in insisting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
order the refunds of alleged overcharges. Carl Ingram in the Los Angeles
Times
<http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-000057428jul13.story?coll=la%2Dhead
lines%2Dpolitics> -- 7/13/01
State lawmakers lobby for refund on energy purchases -- Thwarted in their
quest for an $8.9 billion refund from wholesale power suppliers, state
officials began applying political pressure Thursday on federal regulators
who will set refund levels. A month after pressure from Congress prompted
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to accept price controls on
electricity, House Democrats from California urged FERC to support Gov. Gray
Davis' refund demands. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert06_20010713.html> -- 7/13/01
Governor hopes 'New FERC' will order refunds -- California Governor Gray
Davis Thursday said he hoped the newly-reconsituted Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission would order $8.9 billion in refunds for the state for
electricity overcharges, despite a FERC judge's report to the commission
that the refund amount was too high. "I would like to believe the
commission, with two new commissioners, will be more sensitive to California
consumers and order all the refunds that are due," Davis said in a
statement. Jessica Berthold, Dow Jones Newswires
<http://quicken.excite.com/investments/news/story/djbn/?story=/news/stories/
dj/20010712/BT20010712009356.htm&symbol=PCG> -- 7/13/01
Lawmakers tell FERC to act on power refunds -- The U.S. Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission should act on California's demand for refunds on
electricity sales without convening a 60-day evidentiary proceeding as
called for by the commission's chief administrative law judge. That's the
message 31 House Democrats from California sent in a letter Thursday to the
five-member regulatory panel. Bryan Lee, Dow Jones Newswires
<http://quicken.excite.com/investments/news/story/djbn/?story=/news/stories/
dj/20010712/BT20010712009404.htm&symbol=PCG> -- 7/13/01
Customers get a payback for conservation -- Nearly a third of Pacific Gas &
Electric customers who have received this month's bill got rebates totaling
$7.6 million as a reward for slashing electricity use in June, the utility
said yesterday. The program that cuts 20 percent off ratepayers' bills if
they reduce usage by 20 percent was a high-profile initiative by Gov. Gray
Davis to promote conservation and decrease dependence on out-of-state
generators. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/13/MN186973.DTL>
Dana Hull in the San Jose Mercury
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/local/center/reb071301.htm> Dominic Berbeo
and Dana Bartholomew in the Los Angeles Daily News
<http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/0701/13/new23.asp> -- 7/13/01
Enron profits -- Energy trader Enron Corp. said Thursday that second-quarter
profit rose 40% as its sales of natural gas and electricity surged in
California and elsewhere. Net income rose to $404 million, or 45 cents a
share, from $289 million, or 34 cents, in the year-earlier period. The story
is in the Los Angeles Times
<http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000057358jul13.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines
%2Dbusiness> -- 7/13/01
Records suggest Duke was low-price supplier -- Internal documents give a
broader view of power pricing in California's energy crisis and show that
Duke Energy was one of the state's lowest-priced providers. An analysis by
The Charlotte Observer shows the state paid an average of $269 per
megawatt-hour for $3.5 billion of power during the first quarter, according
to documents from the state's Department of Water Resources. Duke was the
fourth-largest supplier to the agency, which buys about one-third of the
state's power. Stella Hopkins in the Orange County Register
<http://www.ocregister.com/news/duke00713cci.shtml> -- 7/13/01
7 California advisers own energy stocks -- At least seven consultants hired
by Gov. Gray Davis to help California buy and deliver power own stock in
power companies doing business with the state, according to financial
statements released yesterday. The personal financial statements prompted
Secretary of State Bill Jones, an announced GOP candidate for governor, to
call for an investigation into a conflict of interest that Jones said could
compromise California's position as an electricity buyer. Mark Martin in the
San Francisco Chronicle
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/07/13/MN98940.DTL> --
7/13/01
Calpine proposes power plant for Alviso -- Alviso, the long-neglected North
San Jose neighborhood abutting five landfills and a sewage treatment plant,
may become the site of two major power plants as well. Calpine has proposed
a 260-megawatt plant to power what would be the world's largest Internet
server farm. This may be good news to the people of Alviso, since the plant
would emit less smog than 89 diesel generators that would have been used
otherwise. Mike Zapler in the San Jose Mercury
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/alviso13.htm> -- 7/13/01
Power plant clears hurdle -- Despite a momentary snag, legislation clearing
the way for repairing and restarting the old Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.
power plant on Coffee Road passed the state Senate unanimously Thursday. It
now goes back to the Assembly for what is expected to be routine endorsement
of Senate amendments, and then moves to Gov. Gray Davis' desk for his
signature. Vic Pollard in the Bakersfield Californian --
<http://www.bakersfield.com/local/Story/700427p-700304c.html> 7/13/01
Davis and energy and polls -- California Governor Gray Davis's popularity is
bouncing back, and pollsters credit the Democratic lawmaker's campaign to
blame the state's energy problems on out-of-state power companies. Davis has
criticized Duke Energy Corp., Enron Corp. and other power sellers as price
gougers since January. This week, Davis used a power-plant opening as a
platform to claim that energy sellers are ``bleeding us dry.'' The
Democratic state attorney general and Democratic-controlled state Senate are
investigating the firms for market manipulation. David Ward and Daniel Taub
at bloomberg.com
<http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=AO06dKBTNQ2
FsaWZv> -- 7/13/01
Cal-Fed funding approved -- Senate committee Thursday approved $135 million
for California water projects next year, including about $40 million in
projects related to the joint state-federal partnership called Cal-Fed and
$22.5 million for Sacramento area flood-control work. The spending measure
for energy and water projects cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee.
After its approval by the full Senate, the House and Senate will sit down to
reconcile their differing bills. David Whitney in the Fresno Bee
<http://www.fresnobee.com/localnews/story/0,1724,281801,00.html> -- 7/13/01
Senate panel OKs water, flood-control funds -- A Senate committee Thursday
approved $135 million for California water projects next year, including
$22.5 million for Sacramento-area flood-control work. The spending measure
for energy and water projects cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee.
If it is approved by the full Senate, the House and Senate will try to
reconcile their bills. David Whitney in the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert13_20010713.html> -- 7/13/01
Senate holds fast on Klamath plan -- The Senate defeated an effort Thursday
to turn back the clock on the Endangered Species Act and release water to
parched Klamath basin farmers in Northern California and southern Oregon.
The 52-48 vote killed an amendment to a 2002 Interior Department spending
bill that would have effectively scuttled a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
directive that turned off the flow of irrigation waters in the
drought-plagued basin in April in order to protect endangered salmon and
suckerfish. David Whitney in the Sacramento Bee
<http://www.capitolalert.com/news/capalert14_20010713.html> -- 7/13/01
Smog -- Smog in the United States increased dramatically through the first
half of the year, jumping 25 percent above the same period last year, a
Mercury News analysis of state air-quality records has found. But while
California and the nation were doing worse overall, the Bay Area improved
slightly, with the number of smog violations falling from two to one. Seth
Borenstein in the San Jose Mercury
<http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/nation/docs/smog13.htm> -- 7/13/01
Copyright , 2001 Rough & Tumble