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Enron Mail |
* published in yesterday's SD Union Tribune
* lists upcoming and recent events by day (thanks, Sue, for lead!) =20 Developments in California's energy crisis=20 ASSOCIATED PRESS=20 April 16, 2001=20 Here is a look at developments in California's energy crisis:=20 MONDAY:=20 =01) The state is under no power alerts as reserves stay above 7 percent.= =20 =01) Gov. Gray Davis is expected to meet with legislative leaders over a pl= an to=20 buy Southern California Edison's transmission lines.=20 =01) Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. are scheduled to begin paying=20 hundreds of smaller generators for future deliveries, under a plan by the= =20 Public Utilities Commission.=20 SUNDAY:=20 =01) PG&E officials demanded the utility be cut free from state regulation = and=20 be allowed to push huge rate increases onto its customers, two weeks before= =20 negotiations with Davis broke off, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.=20 =01) State energy officials are pushing for approval of a power plant in Sa= n=20 Jose's Coyote Valley, despite recommendations that other sites may be more= =20 environmentally suitable, the San Jose Mercury News reported.=20 The deputy director of the California Energy Commission, Bob Therkelsen,=20 denied any impartial dealings concerning the plant.=20 FRIDAY:=20 =01) Davis asks state lawmakers to approve spending $500 million more to bu= y=20 power for two struggling utilities, bringing his total requests to $5.2=20 billion.=20 =01) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission orders generators who have so= ld=20 electricity to the state to share power purchase information with the feder= al=20 agency, which will then supply the information to a House subcommittee that= =20 held three days of hearings this week on California's energy problems.=20 =01) A business group, the California Alliance for Energy and Economic=20 Stability, says a proposed restructuring of the state's electric rate=20 structure by the PUC would hurt the state's economy by putting a greater ra= te=20 burden on businesses.=20 =01) Edison is granted a stay in a federal lawsuit it brought against the P= UC=20 seeking to raise rates. Edison says both sides agreed to stop discovery and= =20 postpone hearings on all motions while the state considers an agreement=20 brokered by Davis last week. Either side can request that the stay be lifte= d=20 with five days notice.=20 =01) A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles agrees to consider whether the d= ozen=20 or so cases filed against Edison by small power generators should be=20 consolidated into one case. The companies say they have not been paid for= =20 power delivered to the utility since November.=20 =01) Edison says it has sent $206 million in payments to all small power=20 generators that have provided the utility with estimates of their April=20 bills. Under a PUC plan, Edison and PG&E were required to pay the so-called= =20 "qualifying facilities" by Monday.=20 =01) The state is under no power alerts as reserves stay above 7 percent.= =20 WHAT'S NEXT:=20 =01) Davis will lobby legislative leaders on Monday, Senate Republicans and= =20 Assembly Democrats Tuesday, and Senate Democrats Wednesday to support his= =20 agreement to purchase Southern California Edison's power transmission lines= =20 as a way of helping the company pay off its debt. The governor wants to buy= =20 the power lines for $2.76 billion, but lawmakers of both parties have=20 challenged the plan.=20 =01) An Imperial County judge could rule Monday whether Edison must pay=20 CalEnergy, a geothermal power producer, $140 million in past payments.=20 CalEnergy has already been granted the right to break its contract with=20 Edison and sell power on the open market.=20 =01) Edison and PG&E are expected to file their 2000 earnings reports April= 17.=20 =01) The state Senate starts hearings April 18 in its inquiry into allegati= ons=20 that electricity suppliers illegally withheld power to drive up California'= s=20 wholesale prices. Wholesalers deny such accusations.=20 =01) Also April 18, the Assembly plans to resume hearings in its inquiry in= to=20 California's highest-in-the-nation natural gas prices.=20 THE PROBLEM:=20 High demand, high wholesale energy costs, transmission glitches and a tight= =20 supply worsened by scarce hydroelectric power in the Northwest and=20 maintenance at aging California power plants are all factors in California'= s=20 electricity crisis.=20 Edison and PG&E say they've lost nearly $14 billion since June to high=20 wholesale prices that the state's electricity deregulation law bars them fr= om=20 passing on to consumers. PG&E, saying it hasn't received the help it needs= =20 from regulators or state lawmakers, filed for federal bankruptcy protection= =20 April 6.=20 Electricity and natural gas suppliers, scared off by the two companies' poo= r=20 credit ratings, are refusing to sell to them, leading the state in January = to=20 start buying power for the utilities' nearly 9 million residential and=20 business customers. The state is also buying power for a third investor-own= ed=20 utility, San Diego Gas & Electric, which is in better financial shape than= =20 much larger Edison and PG&E but also struggling with high wholesale power= =20 costs.=20 The Public Utilities Commission has raised rates up to 46 percent to help= =20 finance the state's multibillion-dollar power-buying.=20 Even before those increases, California residents paid some of the highest= =20 prices in the nation for electricity. Federal statistics from October show= =20 residential customers in California paid an average of 10.7 cents per=20 kilowatt hour, or 26 percent more than the nationwide average of 8.5 cents.= =20 Only customers in New England, New York, Alaska and Hawaii paid more.=20 , Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
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