California:

California Infrastructure.  FERC staff made a presentation at the March 13th meeting indicating that in-state capacity is insufficient to meet peak power demand.  Staff indicated that only two favorable factors beyond the state's control that have changed since the power blackouts of a year ago:  the economy and the weather.  With recession, energy demand is down and therefore prices are near a five-year low.  Heavy snowpack in the Pacific Northwest/California areas will provide sufficient hydropower for the upcoming summer peak periods.  Staff was critical of the lack of effort made to build additional power plants to accommodate California requirements.

RP00-336 El Paso Capacity.  FERC staff concluded that El Paso's firm service is no longer reliable due to the Full Requirement customers growth and impact on available receipt points/capacity.  Staff recommended that FR customers be converted to Contract Demand and that technical conference be scheduled.