FERC has set a meeting for Monday18 June 10 am PDT wherein it has noticed its California and WSCC-wide dockets.  The meeting has been timed in advance of congressional hearings (by Senator Joseph Lieberman) that were set for later in the week.

Expect FERC to respond to intense political pressure to expand its current price mitigation measures, possibly to a WSCC-wide scope or to all hours, or both.

As far as I know Hebert is still President of the FERC, which would speak to less intervention rather than more.

We will forward information as we learn it.

Alan Comnes




 

 
US FERC To Meet June 18 On Western US Electricity Prices
  
06/11/2001 
Dow Jones Energy Service 
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) 


WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has scheduled a special meeting June 18 to address pending matters involving electricity markets in California and neighboring Western states. 


The commission's meeting notice provides no details, except to list for discussion four cases involving price mitigation in, and the structure of, volatile power markets in California and 10 other Western states.


The meeting comes as members of Congress are placing enormous political pressure on the commission to take more drastic action to contain runaway electricity prices in the region. 


Last week, House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., joined 21 Western-state congressional lawmakers to request an opportunity to appear before the commission to argue their case for cost-based price controls in the region's electricity markets. 


"At least twice, FERC has determined that the Western electricity market is 'dysfunctional' and that prices are 'unjust and unreasonable' under the Federal Power Act. Despite these findings, and contrary to the law, the commission has failed to bring these rates to just and reasonable levels," the lawmakers said in a letter to FERC Chairman Curt Hebert. 

By Bryan Lee, Dow Jones Newswires, 202-862-6647, bryan.lee@dowjones.com


 

  
Copyright ? 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.