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IEP NEWS UPDATE:
US Lawmaker: Revoke 6 Pwr Cos Mkt-Based Selling To Calif ???? ???????Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 08:16 AM?ET ??? Calif Gov Forms Team To Speed Power Plant Construction ???? ???????Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 03:34 PM?ET ??? US Sens Unveil Bipartisan Bill To Cap Western Pwr Prices ???? ???????Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 12:17 PM?ET ????? ? ________________________________________________________________ US Lawmaker: Revoke 6 Pwr Cos Mkt-Based Selling To Calif ???? Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 08:16 AM?ET ????? ? (This article was originally published Monday) LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--A U.S. Congressman from California asked federal regulators Monday to revoke the authority of six generators to sell power at market-based rates in the state because they abused that authority in the past, according to a letter seen by Dow Jones Newswires. Congressman Bob Filner of San Diego accused the following companies of controlling power prices in California: AES Corp (AES, news, msgs), Duke Energy Corp (DUK, news, msgs), Dynegy Inc (DYN, news, msgs), Mirant Corp (MIR , news, msgs), Reliant Energy, Inc (REI, news, msgs), and The Williams Companies, Inc (WMB, news, msgs). "Each of the companies was required, as a condition for the authority to sell at market-based rates, to demonstrate that they did not possess market power in the California generation market," Filner said in a letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Curt Hebert. "It is clear that these firms, do, in fact, have market power and therefore do not satisfy the prerequisite for authority to sell at market-based rates under FERC rules." FERC granted the generators market-based rate authority in 1998 for three years, and is in the process of determining whether to renew that authority. Filner's letter comes on the heels of a meeting Thursday between California Gov. Gray Davis and 22 federal lawmakers from the state, where all agreed that FERC needs to take more action to curb skyrocketing wholesale power prices in California. The lawmakers have not, however, reached a consensus on how the FERC should keep prices in check. At least one other Congressperson, Democrat Jane Harman, said Thursday that she favored revoking generators' market-based rate authority. The state's grid operator filed a letter to FERC in March claiming generators overcharged the state $6.2 billion for electricity they sold in the state's power market between May 2000 and February 2001. FERC has ordered refunds for overcharges totalling $124.5 million for January through March, 2001. -By Jessica Berthold; Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3872; jessica.berthold@dowjones.com Calif Gov Forms Team To Speed Power Plant Construction ???? Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 03:34 PM?ET ????? ? LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--California Gov. Gray Davis said Tuesday he has formed a task force to help speed the construction of new power plants in the state, according to a press release. The team will examine construction schedules and shorten the startup time for power plants to be built and develop methods to overcome potential delays during construction, the release said. The task force will comprise members of engineering and construction firms, and will be led by Ambassador Richard Sklar, who recently completed service as the U.S. President's Special Representative for Economic Reform and Reconstruction in Southeast Europe. Sklar is the former owner of a construction machinery manufacturing firm and former president of a project management firm as well as former general manager of San Francisco's Public Utilities Commission, the release said. Other members of the task force include project management executives from Bechtel Group Inc, URS Corp. ????????(URS, news, msgs), and Fluor Corp. (FLR, news, msgs) unit Fluor Daniel. "To keep up the momentum and ensure we have 15% more supply online than demand by 2004, this project management team will work to expedite all phases of the power plant construction process," Davis said. Davis also said Tuesday his energy advisor and staff director, John Stevens, is leaving the administration, but will continue to work with the governor on energy-related issues. -By Jessica Berthold; Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3872; jessica.berthold@dowjones.com US Sens Unveil Bipartisan Bill To Cap Western Pwr Prices ???? Updated: Tuesday, April 24, 2001 12:17 PM?ET ????? ? WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. senators Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif, and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., Tuesday unveiled bipartisan legislation to require federal regulators to impose cost-based electicity price controls throughout the western U.S.. The bill was unveiled at a press conference designed to ratchet up pressure on the Bush administration to relent in its opposition to price controls in response to a pending electricity supply crisis in the region this summer. The measure would require the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to limit the prices power suppliers can obtain to their cost of production plus a reasonable rate of return. The bill would allow FERC to determine what rate of return power providers could obtain. The cost-based price controls would remain in effect until March 1, 2003. The bill also targets a FERC decision deemed to be exacerbating California's electricity crisis by driving up natural gas costs in the state. It would require FERC to end a temporary suspension of a natural gas transportation rate cap for sales into California. The bill would mandate that natural gas providers disclose to FERC commodity and transportation prices for sales into California.
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