Here are the best clips on the FERC's Wednesday actions as of Wednesday 
evening.  The decisons are to be out on Thursday.  However the press release 
(attached) has some details I did not hear at the meeting.

Alan Comnes


---------------------- Forwarded by Alan Comnes/PDX/ECT on 04/25/2001 10:30 
PM ---------------------------


djcustomclips@djinteractive.com on 04/25/2001 10:26:25 PM
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Subject: FERC in the News: USA:    UPDATE 1-FERC adopts plan to monitor 
Calif. power market.


USA:
UPDATE 1-FERC adopts plan to monitor Calif. power market.
By Patrick Connole and Tom Doggett

04/26/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - A split U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission approved on Wednesday a plan to stabilize California's volatile
power market and stem market abuses.

Under the plan, set to take effect in late May and last for one year, price
relief measures will be imposed on California's wholesale power sales during
severe energy shortages.
The three-member commission split sharply on the plan, voting 2-1 for an order
that the majority believe will prevent power costs from soaring out of control
in California this summer.

Wholesale power prices have jumped tenfold in California in the past year, the
result of growing demand from the state's 34 million residents following a
decade that saw no major power plants added to its electric system.

FERC Chairman Curtis Hebert, a Republican, and Democrat Linda Breathitt
supported the order. Democrat William Massey dissented despite 10 hours of
talks aimed at reaching a consensus.

"California consumers can rest assured that the commission has been attentive
to their problems, and has worked tirelessly to ensure that they receive
necessary relief in a manner that does not compound current problems or
undemine longer-term solutions," Hebert said.

DISSENTING VOTE

Massey said that by limiting price relief to declared power emergencies,
FERC's actions would fall short of solving the severe problems plaguing the
California market.

"The evidence is pervasive that the problem exists 24 hours a day, seven days
a week. Now is not the time for half-a-loaf solutions," Massey said.

Under the plan, price mitigation would be triggered whenever the California
Independent System Operator (ISO) declares a power emergency.

The ISO, which manages most of the state's power grid, uses a three-stage
alert system, with a Stage One called when power reserves drop to within seven
percent of actual demand on the grid.

As demand eats further into the supply cushion, Stage Two and Stage Three
alerts are declared, with Stage Three indicating rolling blackouts may be
required to avoid overloading the grid and triggering far more widespread
outages.

California has ordered rolling blackouts four days so far this year, with
state energy officials predicting more are likely this summer when air
conditioning pushes demand to its annual peak.

FINDING A FAIR PRICE

The mitigation and monitoring plan's central element will require generators
to offer available power in real time using a "proxy" price established a day
ahead of actual delivery, FERC said.

The proxy price reflects the "marginal cost of the highest-cost generator"
asked to supply power to the grid.

This price will vary daily according to demand, the price of fuel used by
generators - such as natural gas - and the cost of complying with
environmental standards.

However, generators could charge more than the proxy price if they can justify
the higher cost when FERC reviews their sales records, which they are required
to submit at the end of each month. If those costs cannot be justified, FERC
can order the generator to refund the buyer.

FERC said all generators in California, even those not subject to the
commission's price regulations, are required to sell into the ISO's real time
price market as a condition of their use of the ISO's interstate transmission
lines.

Hydro-electric facilities were exempted from the plan because of their
generation limitations, which fluctuate according to reservoir levels and the
competing needs of others for those same water resources.

REGIONAL SOLUTION

The commission emphasized that the only real solution to the power supply
problems affecting the western markets was to forge a regional response.

Toward this goal, FERC said California ISO would need to file a plan to form a
regional transmission organization (RTO) by June 1, or forfeit the so-called
crutch of FERC's price-relief plan.

Among the many measures contained in the order, FERC told California utilities
to coordinate any temporary shutdowns of generating plants with the ISO to
ensure the state has adequate electric supplies at all times.

The order also formally opened an investigation by commission staff into
possible abusive wholesale practices behind power sales throughout the Western
region.

FERC said the plan would expire in 2002 as the California power crisis eases.
The state's rush to build new power plants is expected to put an additional
4,000 to 6,000 megawatts on the grid by next summer, enough to supply up to
six million homes.



Folder Name: FERC in the News
Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 96

______________________________________________________________________

To review or revise your folder, visit http://www.djinteractive.com or 
contact Dow Jones Customer Service by e-mail at custom.news@bis.dowjones.com 
or by phone at 800-369-7466. (Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 609-452-1511 
or contact your local sales representative.)
______________________________________________________________________

Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

---------------------- Forwarded by Alan Comnes/PDX/ECT on 04/25/2001 10:30 
PM ---------------------------


djcustomclips@djinteractive.com on 04/25/2001 10:42:39 PM
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Subject: FERC: AP NewsBriefs: Wednesday, April 25, 2001


AP NewsBriefs: Wednesday, April 25, 2001

04/26/2001
AP Online
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

   Bush Comments About Taiwan Causes Stir

   TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - President Bush's bold comments about Taiwan
provoked quick reactions of concern Thursday in Asia, where a war
between China and Taiwan could devastate the region. Bush told The
Associated Press on Wednesday that U.S. military force is "certainly an
option" if China strikes Taiwan. He later said that America has an
obligation to defend Taiwan if China attacks. China had no immediate
comment about Bush's comments, and Taiwan's Foreign Ministry was also
silent.
   Grafts Can Restore Sexual Function

   DANA POINT, Calif. (AP) - Salvaging a nerve from the ankle, surgeons
have found they can rewire the penis so men achieve erections and have
sex after operations to remove their cancerous prostate glands. Doctors
say the nerve grafts are not as good as the original nerves, but they do
allow some men to regain sexual function when they otherwise would be
undoubtedly left impotent. "It seems to have promise, certainly over
doing nothing," said Dr. Joseph J. Disa, a plastic surgeon who performs
the surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

   Africa Ministers OK AIDS Drugs Plan

   ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - African ministers agreed on a draft declaration
Wednesday calling on their countries to import and produce their own
generic AIDS drugs and to boost spending dramatically on AIDS programs
to fight the pandemic. African heads of state are expected to sign the
document Thursday at the start of a two-day pan-African summit on AIDS,
tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Governments will then be
asked to ratify the agreement in their respective legislative chambers.

   South Pole Rescue Is Made

   PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (AP) - A rescue plane completed the perilous
first leg of flight home from the South Pole, carrying an ailing
American doctor across Antarctica before landing at a base near the
coast. The propeller plane carrying Dr. Ronald Shemenski, who is
suffering from a gall bladder ailment, flew from the U.S. base at the
pole to Rothera research station in just over eight hours. "They've
landed safely," said Valerie Carroll of U.S.-based Raytheon Polar
Services, which organized the airlift.

   Calif. Energy Prices Limited

   WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal energy regulators Wedneday directed limited
price controls on California's wholesale electricity markets, but the
order fell short of the sweeping price caps California officials have
wanted. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 2-1 to order that
wholesale prices be capped in California when electricity reserves fall
below 7.5 percent, triggering an emergency alert by power grid managers.

   Bush Debuts As Fund-Raiser-In-Chief

   LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - President Bush stepped out as the GOP's
fund-raiser in chief tonight, headlining an Arkansas dinner that netted
at least $700,000 for a key political ally, Sen. Tim Hutchinson. "I'm
here for one simple reason: This man needs to be returned back to the
United States Senate come election 2002," Bush told hundreds of donors.
Bush spoke largely about his own tax-reduction proposals, which he cast
as a matter of fairness.

   Problems Delay Space Station's Arm

   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - Computer trouble prevented astronauts
from steering the international space station's new giant robot arm with
a 1 1/2 -ton load Wednesday and resulted in a cascade of other woes.
Communication between the space station and Mission Control was
disrupted, and the orbiting outpost was left to fly on autopilot. In
addition, an orbit-raising maneuver by the docked space shuttle
Endeavour was put on hold.

   Feds: Airlines Fly Too Much

   WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration reported
Wednesday that so many flights have been scheduled at certain airports
that there is no way all of those planes can take off or land on time.
The problem is so acute at eight airports that at least three of every
100 takeoffs or landings are delayed by more than 15 minutes. At
LaGuardia, 16 percent of all takeoffs and landings were delayed last
year, more than any other airport, FAA statistics show. Newark was
second, at 8 percent, followed by O'Hare with 6 percent.

   Tokyo Stocks Rise

   TOKYO (AP) - Tokyo stocks rose in early trading Thursday as the
Nikkei rose 141.43 points to 13,968.93 points.

   Bucks 103, Magic 96

   MILWAUKEE (AP) - Fired up by a flagrant foul from Andrew DeClercq,
Ray Allen scored a personal playoff-best 27 points as the Bucks beat
Orlando 103-96 Wednesday night and took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five
series. Tracy McGrady scored 35 points, but just five in the fourth
quarter as the Magic, trying to be more physical than finesse, lost for
the 11th straight time to Milwaukee.

   AP NewsBrief by VINCENT K. WILLIS



Folder Name: FERC
Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 80

______________________________________________________________________

To review or revise your folder, visit http://www.djinteractive.com or 
contact Dow Jones Customer Service by e-mail at custom.news@bis.dowjones.com 
or by phone at 800-369-7466. (Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 609-452-1511 
or contact your local sales representative.)
______________________________________________________________________

Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved

---------------------- Forwarded by Alan Comnes/PDX/ECT on 04/25/2001 10:30 
PM ---------------------------


djcustomclips@djinteractive.com on 04/25/2001 10:54:19 PM
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Subject: FERC: USA: The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on 
Wednesday approved    the ...


USA: The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved
the
formation of RTO West...

04/25/2001
Reuters English News Service
(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

24OEC/???WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission on Wednesday approved the formation of RTO West, an eight-state
system combining the transmission assets of nine utilities in the Pacific
Northwest.

U.S. regulators and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham believe RTO West is a
step forward in addressing reliability issues in the region. The federally
owned Bonneville Power Administration is one of the utilities in the RTO
design.
An RTO is an organization that manages a bulk electricity transmission system.
RTOs are expected to play a greater role in maintaining the nation's power
grid as markets deregulate.

As part of the approval for RTO West, the commission also accepted a proposal
from some of the utilities to form a transmission company (TRANSCO) to operate
within the broader RTO West.

The FERC asked the RTO to make a submission to it by December 1 of this year
on its plans for including Canadian transmission and widening the scope of its
operations in a broader regional system.

RTO West first submitted its plans to the FERC last October. It includes nine
electric utilities serving eight western states with some 50,000 miles of
transmission lines.

The nine are Avista , BPA, Idaho Power , Montana Power , Nevada Power ,
PacifiCorp , Portland General Electric , Puget Sound Energy and Sierra Pacific
---------------------- Forwarded by Alan Comnes/PDX/ECT on 04/25/2001 10:30 
PM ---------------------------


djcustomclips@djinteractive.com on 04/25/2001 11:07:48 PM
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Subject: FERC in the News: FERC Orders Limited California Price Controls


FERC Orders Limited California Price Controls
By Rebecca Smith

04/26/2001
The Wall Street Journal
A4
(Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

  Hewing more to the ideological position of the Bush administration
than to the urgings of Gov. Gray Davis and other California politicians,
a divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday ordered limited
price controls for the state's flawed electricity market. The new
controls aren't likely to restrain runaway wholesale power prices this
summer.

   The order was approved in a meeting that began 10 hours late, as the
three commissioners locked horns over how far the agency should go to
restrain wholesale prices that have pushed one of California's big
utilities into bankruptcy and which now threatens the state's fiscal
health.
   The commission built on a staff recommendation, issued in March, that
suggested it act only at those times when electricity supplies are in
shortest supply. In its order, the commission decided to intervene
whenever state electricity reserves drop below authorized levels --
so-called Stage I, II and III emergencies.

   The price-mitigation plan appears to ignore evidence, filed by the
grid-operating California Independent System Operator, that generators
can substantially raise market prices even when supplies aren't
technically short. The ISO had recommended imposing price caps when
individual generating plants tried to charge far more than fair
production costs.

   Commissioner William Massey dissented, in part, from the order in a
sharply worded attack on the commission which he said hadn't done its
duty to protect energy users by restraining generators that overcharge.
As a consequence, he said, the "economic carnage" is spreading
throughout the West.

   Mr. Massey, an Arkansas Democrat, criticized the commission for
acting only when electricity reserves fall below 7%, "since this agency
is obligated to ensure just and reasonable prices in all hours."

   Under the order, generators will be required to submit cost data to
justify high prices during periods of electricity scarcity. They will be
allowed to collect the price they bid so long as it doesn't exceed the
price charged by the oldest, least-efficient plant operating at the
time. Such "proxy price" methodology enabled plant owners to collect as
much as $470 per megawatt hour in February or roughly 12 times the
prevailing price a year earlier.

   Support for the order came from commission Chairman Curt Hebert, a
Mississippi Republican, who said he didn't intend the commission to fall
into a trap of limiting market forces to the extent that "we hinder
efforts" to build new power plants and transmission lines that are badly
needed to correct California's supply-and-demand imbalance.

   Linda Breathitt, a Kentucky Democrat, was the swing vote who
eventually sided with Mr. Hebert. FERC staffers said she expressed
doubts about whether the commission was doing as much as it should. In
the meeting she acknowledged the "complexity" and "difficulty" of the
task but said she remained "steadfast in my belief that market solutions
. . . are preferable" to regulatory controls.

   The commission attached an unexpected condition to its order, saying
the price-cap scheme will be revoked June 1 unless the California grid
operator has filed a plan to become part of a region-wide grid-operating
organization. California's ISO had such a plan ready to file but it got
yanked when a new board, named by the state's governor, took control
recently. In recent months, Mr. Davis has urged increased isolationism,
even suggesting the state no longer export power.It isn't clear whether
FERC intends to permit California to continue to operate as a
stand-alone grid-running organization. More likely, it will be expected
to show it intends to become part of a multistate organization to
operate transmission lines in a nondiscriminatory manner. The commission
gave tentative approval yesterday to formation of a regional grid
operator that would encompass eight other Western states and would
include the transmission system of the federal Bonneville Power
Administration, the biggest power marketer and transmission owner in the
Northwest. Geographically, it would be the biggest regional grid
organization in the United States.



Folder Name: FERC in the News
Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 91

______________________________________________________________________

To review or revise your folder, visit http://www.djinteractive.com or 
contact Dow Jones Customer Service by e-mail at custom.news@bis.dowjones.com 
or by phone at 800-369-7466. (Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 609-452-1511 
or contact your local sales representative.)
______________________________________________________________________

Copyright (c) 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved