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Enron Mail |
SBC Communications, PeopleSoft Gain on Positive Earnings Reports
The Wall Street Journal, 07/26/01 Senators Offer Bill To Improve US Power Market Disclosure Dow Jones International News, 07/26/01 Resolve the Enron crisis The Financial Express, 07/26/01 UK: ANALYSIS-More work needed for Europe gas market opening. Reuters English News Service, 07/26/01 India's Karnataka State Ready To Buy Dabhol Pwr - Report Dow Jones International News, 07/26/01 Tech Soundings: The security market will consolidate like crazy over the ne= xt=20 few years. However, the companies doing the buying might surprise you. Redherring.com, 07/26/01 FERC Spurns California's $9 Billion claim, but big refunds still possible Houston Chronicle, 07/26/01 Abreast of the Market SBC Communications, PeopleSoft Gain on Positive Earnings Reports By Robert O'Brien Dow Jones Newswires 07/26/2001 The Wall Street Journal C2 (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) NEW YORK -- Volume increased and market averages rallied, as a little=20 improvement in the tenor of earnings reports proved to make a big differenc= e=20 in the way investors viewed Wall Street.=20 SBC Communications gained $2.58, or 6.3%, to $43.38 after the=20 telecommunications-service provider reported second-quarter earnings that= =20 beat Wall Street's forecasts, and chose to keep its forecasts for the balan= ce=20 of the year intact. PeopleSoft rose 4.16, or 12%, to 38.40 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, afte= r=20 the Pleasanton, Calif., maker of enterprise software came through late=20 Tuesday with better-than-expected second-quarter results.=20 To be sure, any improvement in the earnings tone would be characterized as= =20 marginal, rather than material. After all, even SBC acknowledged=20 weaker-than-expected revenue growth, owing to the weakness of the economy.= =20 And the technology sector included several prominent earnings disappointmen= ts=20 as well as triumphs.=20 Shares of storage-products maker QLogic lost 6.3, or 15%, to 34.44, after= =20 posting its quarterly results. Semiconductor device maker Microsemi, Santa= =20 Ana, Calif., shrank 10.46, or 16%, to 56.54, in Nasdaq trading.=20 Still, after several weeks of dispiriting earnings performances and=20 forecasts, Wall Street was primed to celebrate any improvement, no matter h= ow=20 marginal.=20 "Investors have been sitting on their hands so long that any hint of positi= ve=20 visibility was going to be a spark for the buyers, and we saw that today wi= th=20 the way some institutional customers behaved," said Patrick Boyle, head of= =20 financial trading at Credit Suisse First Boston.=20 But Mr. Boyle acknowledged that the market remains vulnerable to additional= =20 shortfalls in profits or economic data.=20 Yet, yesterday, volume picked up, with 1.25 billion shares changing hands o= n=20 the New York Stock Exchange, compared with 1.19 billion Tuesday.=20 The Nasdaq Composite Index, which came into yesterday's trading off a strin= g=20 of three losses, posted a gain of 25.08 points, or 1.28%, to 1984.32.=20 The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 164.55 points, or 1.61%, to 10405.67.= =20 The Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index advanced 1.6%, effectively erasing=20 Tuesday's 1.63% setback. Two of the biggest contributors to that day's loss= es=20 proved to be the engines of improvement yesterday, with power suppliers and= =20 oil stocks rallying impressively.=20 Dominion Resources, a Richmond, Va., utility, climbed 2.50 to 59.75; Enron,= =20 Houston, advanced 1.72 to 44.96; and Public Service Enterprise, Newark, N.J= .,=20 rose 2.38, or 5.6%, to 45.24.=20 Some of the independent power producers that faded badly Tuesday on some=20 pessimistic comments from Salomon Smith Barney perked up yesterday. The gro= up=20 got a lift from some comments from Credit Suisse First Boston, which jumped= =20 to its defense yesterday.=20 Calpine, San Jose, Calif., recovered 1.91, or 5.6%, to 35.81, Kinder Morgan= ,=20 Houston, rose 1.58 to 51.78, and El Paso, also of Houston, advanced 1.52 to= =20 49.16, after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter resul= ts=20 yesterday.=20 Oil exploration and production concern Amerada Hess, New York, a 3% decline= r=20 Tuesday, snapped back, adding 3.60, or 5.1%, to 74.40. The company recorded= =20 better-than-expected second-quarter earnings.=20 Likewise, Oklahoma City exploration concern Kerr-McGee, which lost 3.1%=20 Tuesday, advanced 1.80 to 59.87 after issuing better-than-expected results.= =20 Texaco added 3.13, or 5%, to 67.55, on better-than-expected second-quarter= =20 results.=20 Meanwhile, Schlumberger, New York, part of an oil-services sector that has= =20 been in steady decline recently, improved 2.78, or 5.2%, to 56.48, after th= e=20 company recorded second-quarter results.=20 Amdocs advanced 4.31, or 11%, to 42.01. The St. Louis provider of billing= =20 systems and services for cable television and Internet-service providers=20 recorded stronger-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results late Tuesday.= =20 Emulex fell 50 cents to 22.31 on Nasdaq. Salomon Smith Barney reduced its= =20 rating on the Costa Mesa, Calif., data-storage products maker, following th= e=20 weaker-than-expected results turned in by QLogic.=20 Ticketmaster advanced 1.84, or 14%, to 14.80 on Nasdaq. The Los Angeles=20 Internet-site operator reported second-quarter results late Tuesday that=20 proved to be stronger than Wall Street expected, drawing kudos from Thomas= =20 Weisel Partners. The firm said the stock remained one of its favorite names= =20 in the media sector.=20 Leap Wireless shed 6.32, or 20%, to 25.04 on Nasdaq. The San Diego=20 wireless-communications-services provider reported second-quarter results= =20 that missed Wall Street's forecasts.=20 Qualcomm added 1.84 to 59.59 on Nasdaq. The San Diego=20 wireless-communications-systems developer said it canceled the planned=20 spinoff of its semiconductor business.=20 Xerox fell 40 cents, or 5%, to 7.59. The Stamford, Conn., copier and printe= r=20 maker lived up to Wall Street's projections for its second quarter, but=20 warned that its return to profitability won't come in the third quarter, as= =20 the company previously forecast, but in the fourth quarter this year.=20 Linear Technology declined 1.93, or 5%, to 37.79 on Nasdaq. The Milpitas,= =20 Calif., semiconductor manufacturer reported as-expected fiscal fourth-quart= er=20 earnings, though the company cautioned that its current-quarter sales will= =20 show a decline from the level of the quarter it reported.=20 Aflac slid 3.35, or 11%, to 28.20, after the Columbus, Ga., supplemental an= d=20 life-insurance provider reported its second-quarter results. The company sa= id=20 it found the sales totals from its Japanese unit disappointing.=20 Chris-Craft Industries declined 55 cents, or 0.8%, to 69.30. The Federal=20 Communications Commission approved the $5 billion purchase of the New York= =20 television station owner by Fox Television Stations, a unit of News Corp.= =20 The American depositary receipts of News declined 56 cents, or 1.6%, to=20 35.50.=20 Furniture Brands declined 67 cents, or 2.4%, to 26.93. UBS Warburg said it= =20 turned cautious about the earnings outlook for the St. Louis furniture make= r,=20 after several other names in related businesses warned of profit shortfalls= .=20 Rail carriers ended mixed, with some names, such as CSX, Richmond, Va.,=20 recovering 1.70, or 5%, to 36.95, after losing 6% Tuesday. Credit Suisse=20 First Boston called Tuesday's selloff in the sector overdone, and urged=20 investors to take advantage of depressed prices in the group.=20 However, CSFB said it remained cautious about Burlington Northern, whose=20 earnings performance sparked Tuesday's slide. The stock, which lost 8%=20 Tuesday, eased another 69 cents, or 2.5%, to 26.55.=20 Ivax gained 77 cents, or 2.1%, to end at 38.02. The Miami pharmaceuticals= =20 concern posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter earnings, affirming a= =20 call from UBS Warburg, which said in a report Tuesday it expected to see=20 better-than-expected results from the company.=20 McKesson HBOC added 55 cents, or 1.5%, to 38.40. The San Francisco pharmacy= =20 benefits group and health-care information technology provider reported=20 better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results. The company also said it= =20 plans to change its name, and other corporate identification characteristic= s,=20 such as its logo, to McKesson.=20 Teva Pharmaceuticals improved 3.35, or 5.1%, to 68.79 on Nasdaq. The Israel= i=20 drug maker reported stronger-than-anticipated second-quarter earnings, whic= h=20 realized the expectations that CIBC World Markets advanced in a research no= te=20 earlier this week. Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.=20 Senators Offer Bill To Improve US Power Market Disclosure 07/25/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Conrad Burns,=20 R-Mont., introduced legislation Wednesday that would require increased=20 disclosure from operators of wholesale electric transmission systems and=20 power markets.=20 The bill would require system operators to provide information to all users= =20 about available capacity of transmission lines, electricity supply and dema= nd=20 and other basic pieces of information that would be updated hourly. "Providing market participants with more timely access to information will= =20 allow them to make better-informed decisions, which in the end benefits=20 consumers," Burns said in a prepared statement.=20 Wyden and Burns claim support for their bill, dubbed the Electricity=20 Information, Disclosure, Efficiency and Accountability Act, from the Nation= al=20 Association of Regulatory Commissioners and Enron Corp. (ENE).=20 The bill is likely to be referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resource= s=20 Committee, which is holding hearings on electricity issues this week.=20 -By Campion Walsh, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9291;=20 Campion.Walsh@dowjones.com Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.=20 Resolve the Enron crisis Or say goodbye to foreign direct investments=20 THE FINANCIAL EXPRESS Thursday, July 26, 2001, http://www.financialexpress.com/fe20010726/ed2.htm= l It is finally official. The US government has openly voiced its anguish ove= r=20 the Dabhol impasse and without mincing any words, has warned that this woul= d=20 impede foreign direct investments (FDI) into India. The US assistant=20 secretary of state, Christina Rocca=01,s description of the investment sent= iment=20 summed up in the five letter word =01+Enron=01, cannot be ignored by the In= dian=20 government. It is close to nine months since Enron=01,s Dabhol Power Compan= y=20 (DPC) and Maharashtra state electricity board first started fighting over t= he=20 high cost of power with still no solution in sight. The end result is that= =20 assets on the ground are idling and there has been no generation of power= =20 from the project site for close to two months. How can this be explained to= =20 international investors? Though critics can argue that the DPC deal was=20 one-sided, the rate of return was too high and so on, but frankly, no=20 investor has the time and patience to understand such problems for making a= n=20 investment decision. Investors carry out an assessment of potential=20 opportunities and pick out those which are hassle-free and offer an adequat= e=20 return. In India, investors face hurdles and their returns are determined b= y=20 many factors besides market conditions.=20 It is imperative that the central government makes out its case in right=20 earnest and ensures that the country is not sending out negative signals to= =20 other investors. For instance, the Union government should take some positi= ve=20 steps in settling the problem before the US Trade Representative Robert=20 Zoellick visits India and probably set a deadline for settling the problem= =20 before the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee goes to the US. Both= =20 the Centre and state governments should own up the responsibility of having= =20 created a problem and should stop putting the blame squarely at the doorste= p=20 of Enron. The Centre should open a parallel discussion with other suitors f= or=20 DPC like AES, which is also US based and is also open to changes in the ter= ms=20 of the project. It is no doubt true that there is no quick fix for the Enro= n=20 imbroglio, but the government has to appear to be doing something to resolv= e=20 the dispute. By choosing to do nothing about it, the government is only=20 damaging itself. UK: ANALYSIS-More work needed for Europe gas market opening. By Dominique Magada 07/26/2001 Reuters English News Service (C) Reuters Limited 2001. LONDON, July 26 (Reuters) - The opening of the European gas market is being= =20 held back by technical and legal hurdles and more work is needed to ensure= =20 fair competition for new entrants.=20 A year after the European gas directive was enforced, progress has been slo= w=20 and industrial gas consumers have seen little benefit of the introduction o= f=20 competition, experts say. "The implementation of the gas directive so far has not brought the degree = of=20 competition that industrial gas users expect from a liberalized market,"=20 Francesco Balocco, chairman of the International Federation of Industrial= =20 Energy Consumers (IFIEC) Europe, said at a gas regulatory forum held in=20 Madrid earlier this month.=20 Under the directive, member states agreed to open their gas market to a=20 minimum of 20 percent of consumers by August 2000, rising to 28 percent by= =20 2003 and 33 percent by 2008.=20 but so far, the level of switching to new suppliers has been minimal and on= ly=20 a handful of companies have been able to secure new gas supply contracts.= =20 "There hasn't been a big indent in the market, only a few suppliers, mainly= =20 UK producers with gas to sell have made inroads, and usually in areas that= =20 were not supplied before," said Nick White, gas market expert with PA=20 Consulting.=20 He cited trading company Enron , which signed gas supply contracts in Germa= ny=20 and Italy, and Centrica Plc , which took a 50 percent stake in Belgian ener= gy=20 supply joint-venture, Luminus.=20 European gas markets were traditionally dominated by large integrated=20 monopoly companies, such as French Gaz de France (GdF), German Ruhrgas,=20 Italy's SNAM, Dutch Gasunie and Spanish Gas Natural, with the exception of= =20 the UK where the gas market fully liberalised in the 1990s ahead of the EU= =20 directive.=20 ACCESS TO PIPELINE NETWORKS BIGGEST HURDLE=20 Complicated rules and discriminatory tariffs to use the pipeline networks, = as=20 well as difficulties in accessing meters are often blamed for the lack of= =20 progress in liberalisation.=20 "The progress is still very patchy. The grid operators have published their= =20 access tariffs, but more work is needed on the technical details," said=20 White.=20 He cited in particular access to meter reading which needed to be facilitat= ed=20 to help consumers switch supplier.=20 Access to national pipeline networks, opened to third parties under the=20 directive, is a key element of market opening but was left to member-states= =20 to decide on access conditions, resulting in different systems across Europ= e.=20 Some countries such as France and Italy have opted for regulated access=20 whereas in Germany and the Netherlands access is negotiated between parties= .=20 So far, most network operators have made their access tariffs public, but t= he=20 tariffs chosen have raised criticism.=20 In France, where the gas law has yet to be passed, the point to point=20 distance tariff put in place by network operator Gaz de France Transport, a= =20 GdF subsidiary, is said to be discriminatory against new entrants, a French= =20 experts' study pointed out.=20 In Germany, where the market is fully opened in theory, critics say the=20 system is too complicated.=20 "The German system is extremely complicated: there are 700 transmission and= =20 distribution companies which apply three different tariffs systems," said= =20 IFIEC's Francesco Balocco.=20 Also gas prices, which were expected to decline with the introduction of=20 competition, have instead risen because of their link to oil prices, which= =20 still rules gas supply contracts.=20 NOT ALL OBSTACLES=20 But, other participants are more positive, arguing that, although slow,=20 competition has started in many countries.=20 "It's not all obstacles, there has been some progress and the European=20 Commission has recognised that the market can be opened faster," said Doug= =20 Wood, senior director in government and regulatory affairs for Enron Europe= =20 Ltd.=20 The EU Commission has tabled a new energy directive to open gas and=20 electricity markets to all consumers by 2005, but the directive was rejecte= d=20 by the French government in March.=20 Market participants now ask for harmonized, fair and stable tariffs for=20 access to the network and storage services.=20 They also want regulated third party access in all countries and legal=20 unbundling of large integrated companies.=20 "What needs to be done is the separation of supply and transmission=20 businesses and the adoption of regulated third party access everywhere," sa= id=20 Enron's Wood. Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.=20 India's Karnataka State Ready To Buy Dabhol Pwr - Report 07/26/2001 Dow Jones International News (Copyright © 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- India's Karnataka state government said Thursday th= at=20 it is ready to buy power from Dabhol Power Co.'s 1,444 megawatt second phas= e=20 but only at a certain tariff, the Press Trust of India reported Thursday.= =20 "DPC's tariff should be competitive to the variable charges of independent= =20 power producers' in Karnataka," PTI quoted the chairman and managing direct= or=20 of Karnataka Power Transmission Corp. V.P. Baligar as saying, adding that t= he=20 tariff should range between 2.50 rupees ($1=3DINR47.1525) and INR2.60 a uni= t. The U.S. energy major Enron Corp. (ENE) has a controlling 65% stake in the= =20 Dabhol project, in the western Indian state of Maharashtra. DPC phase I has= a=20 capacity to generate 740 MW of electricity. Work on the 85% completed Dabho= l=20 phase II was stopped mid-June because of financial difficulties.=20 -By Himendra Kumar; Dow Jones Newswires; 91-11-461-9426;=20 himendra.kumar@dowjones.com -0- 26/07/01 10-03G Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.=20 Postcard from the Future: Consolidation or dissolution?=20 Tech Soundings: The security market will consolidate like crazy over the ne= xt=20 few years. However, the companies doing the buying might surprise you. Michael Fitzgerald 07/26/2001 Redherring.com ©2001. Red Herring Communications. All rights reserved. Markets usually evolve in the way that I always envisioned complex molecula= r=20 compounds forming: lots of seething, whizzing protons and neutrons bang int= o=20 each other and ultimately a few large nuclei form (the market leaders), wit= h=20 much smaller electrons zipping around outside them. The security business,= =20 however, looks like it's going to form a different sort of compound.=20 The market is badly splintered right now. According to Updata Capital, a=20 mergers-and-acquisitions advisor, more than 500 companies are fighting for= =20 mindshare. The research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) tracks 46= =20 categories and subcategories in the security space. This complexity shall pass. Some of the consolidating deals will be big one= s,=20 like last year's Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC)/Axent Technologies deal or the=20 Internet Security Systems (Nasdaq: ISSX) buy of Network ICE. A lot won't.= =20 "The business will aggregate around a few players, and we want to be an=20 aggregator," says John W. Thompson, Symantec's CEO. Mr. Thompson believes t= he=20 market will evolve as systems management did. Where there were once hundred= s=20 of companies in that field, now only three matter: Computer Associates's=20 (NYSE: CA) Unicenter, Hewlett-Packard's (NYSE: HWP) OpenView, and IBM's=20 (NYSE: IBM) Tivoli Systems.=20 FEATURE PRESENTATION=20 Mr. Thompson says any deals Symantec makes must fit with its strategic=20 perspective, and that's where things get interesting. Broadly speaking, mos= t=20 security products fall into three categories: interface technologies, war= =20 technologies, and back-end transaction technologies. For instance, most of= =20 Symantec's revenue involves warfare: antivirus software, firewalls, and=20 intrusion detection software. But Symantec also sells PCAnywhere, which fal= ls=20 into the back-end category.=20 So would it make sense for Symantec to add interface technologies like acce= ss=20 management or collaborative computing? Maybe. Mr. Thompson isn't saying.=20 But there's a very real possibility that many of the non-war functions will= =20 get sucked into the features set for front-end application makers or for=20 transaction-oriented companies like Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and Siebel System= s=20 (Nasdaq: SEBL). In other words, security is ultimately just a feature.=20 Updata's Don More likes my theory, saying that non-security companies will= =20 buy security companies "because they need the feature set. It makes sense f= or=20 a BEA to add on a security element to their [enterprise application=20 integration]."=20 FOLLOW THE MONEY=20 Others disagree. Chuck Jones of Salomon Smith Barney thinks that security= =20 companies need to be neutral by nature, and thus are less likely to get=20 absorbed into larger companies. Chris Christiansen, an IDC analyst, finds m= y=20 premise logical, but notes that "market dynamics are not always logical."= =20 Neither analyst, though, thinks any clear winners in the security market wi= ll=20 emerge in the next five years. That means a continuation of today's chaotic= =20 swirl.=20 Gordon Eubanks, Mr. Thompson's predecessor at Symantec and now CEO of Oblix= ,=20 which plays in the access management space, also thinks it's too early to= =20 tell just what might happen. "If you look at history, in productivity=20 applications, the worst judges were the people who thought that word=20 processors and spreadsheets and databases were going to be three different= =20 market segments and three different winners," he says.=20 Mr. Eubanks predicts the winners will come from tech companies with big sto= ck=20 market capitalizations. "The people with the high market caps can decide ho= w=20 they want to consolidate," he says. And the highest market capitalizations = in=20 the technology business do not belong to security vendors. In fact, if you= =20 look out five years, the companies doing the buying in the security industr= y=20 could be massive, transaction-driven businesses like Wal-Mart, General=20 Electric, and Enron.=20 There is no one-stop shop for security, and I think it unlikely that one wi= ll=20 appear.=20 To get Tech Soundings sent to your inbox, subscribe to the e-newsletter. Copyright , 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.=20 July 26, 2001 Houston Chronicle FERC spurns California's $9 billion claim, but big refunds still possible= =20 By DAVID IVANOVICH=20 Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau=20 WASHINGTON -- Federal regulators Wednesday largely rejected California's=20 claims that power companies owe nearly $9 billion in refunds from=20 California's electricity crisis.=20 The battle over California's power debacle appears to be on a trajectory=20 toward an appeal in federal court.=20 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission endorsed an administrative law=20 judge's recommendation that a group of power companies -- including=20 Houston-based Reliant Energy, Enron Corp., Duke Energy North America, Dyneg= y=20 and El Paso Corp. -- pay sizable refunds for overcharging for electricity a= t=20 a time when California was scrambling to avoid rolling blackouts.=20 The five-member commission ordered the power producers to participate in a= =20 hearing to determine within two months how much refunds should be. The=20 commission's order also applies to city-owned utilities in California.=20 The commission's chairman, Curt Hebert Jr., insisted that with the order,= =20 "the cloud of refund uncertainty will lift soon."=20 But by adopting a methodology proposed by Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. for=20 calculating refunds, the commission all but ensured the totals will be far= =20 short of the $8.9 billion California Gov. Gray Davis insists his state is= =20 owed.=20 Wagner estimated his approach would lead to refunds amounting to "hundreds = of=20 millions of dollars, probably more than a billion dollars." Wagner pointed= =20 out that while large sums are due for overcharges, even greater amounts in= =20 unpaid bills are owed to the generators.=20 California officials have threatened to sue if they do not recoup the full= =20 $8.9 billion.=20 They insist their state is owed for alleged overcharges that occurred betwe= en=20 May 2000 through May of this year. The commission's order, however, covers= =20 electricity sales between Oct. 2, 2000, and June 20, 2001. Regulators argue= =20 they don't have the legal authority to order refunds for the months prior t= o=20 that.=20 Davis said Wednesday the commission's action "validates California's claim= =20 that significant refunds are due" and moves the state closer toward its goa= l=20 of receiving $8.9 billion in refunds.=20 "As for the energy profiteers and pirates, let me make clear that I will no= t=20 rest until every dollar gouged from California businesses and residents=20 returns to California," Davis said. "If the FERC does not make California= =20 whole, we will see you in court."=20 The commission's order covers city-owned utilities such as the Los Angeles= =20 Department of Water and Power, which also profited from power sales into=20 California's electricity grid.=20 California officials say $3 billion of their $8.9 billion in claims stem fr= om=20 transactions with these municipal-owned utilities.=20 But many of those utilities, as well as Commissioner William Massey, questi= on=20 whether the federal agency has the authority to include those city-owned=20 generators in its order.=20 Because commission members fully expect the case to move to federal court,= =20 they decided to test the legal waters, arguing that it would not be fair to= =20 rein in the behavior of the private power producers while allowing the=20 municipal-owned utilities to continue unchallenged.=20 Los Angeles Department of Water and Power officials could not be reached fo= r=20 comment.=20 Steve Kean, executive vice president and chief of staff at Enron, argued th= at=20 instead of crafting a formula to decide rebates, the commission should have= =20 examined the companies individually to see if they owe anything.=20 The commission's action Wednesday "was about political pressure," Kean said= .=20 "There's been way too much of that."=20 Steve Stengel, a spokesman for Dynegy, said the commission "confirmed what = we=20 already knew; I think we need to go through the hearing process and see wha= t=20 comes out of that."=20 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission took action Wednesday after=20 negotiations between the power companies and California officials failed to= =20 resolve the dispute.=20 The power generators had offered to pay California $716.1 million in refund= s,=20 light-years away from the state's demands.=20 Also Wednesday, the commission ordered natural gas pipeline companies, gas= =20 supplies and local distribution companies to provide regulators with more= =20 data. Regulators are trying to learn why natural gas prices have been so mu= ch=20 higher in California than elsewhere.=20
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