Free Republic

SACRAMENTO – A Sacramento court ordered another initiative off California's November ballot Friday – an attempt by consumer advocates to re-regulate the state's electricity market. A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that Proposition 80 was "unquestionably invalid on its face" because it would give broader powers to the Public Utilities Commission. The court said the state constitution only allows the Legislature to increase the PUC's jurisdiction. It would take a constitutional amendment to change that requirement but Proposition 80 would only enact a statute, the justices added. "Without such an amendment, Proposition 80 attempts to...

The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) has issued its 2004 Long-Term Reliability Assessment. The report assesses long-term electricity supply and demand and transmission reliability through 2013, and discusses key issues and trends affecting the reliability of future electric supply and transmission systems. “Resource adequacy is expected to be satisfactory throughout North America, provided new generating facilities are constructed as anticipated and NERC reliability rules are followed,” said Michehl R. Gent, NERC president and CEO. “NERC and the electric industry have taken significant steps to improve the reliability of the electric system since the Aug. 14 blackout, and we are...

State power authorities are calling for conservation of electricity in the Southern California area following a surge in demand due to hot, humid weather. The Independent System Operator, which oversees much of California's power grid, issued a 'Flex Your Power Now" alert for the Southern California to remain in effect until 7 p.m., said Stephanie McCorkle, ISO spokeswoman. The warning is one step from a stage one power emergency when reserves drop below 7 percent. Although temperatures in much of Southern California are only in the low 90s, record humidity is driving power use. The San Diego area, for instance,...

For three days in a row last week, California broke all-time electricity consumption records as the mercury climbed over 90 degrees across much of the state. And this is only July. Sizzling August still lies ahead, and the record is almost certain to be broken again. ``We still haven't seen our peak for this year,'' said Jim Detmers, acting chief operating officer of the Independent System Operator, manager of much of California's power grid. The first statewide heat wave of the year has stirred fears of blackouts in California four years after the power system collapsed under the weight of...

The California ISO determines a level of load reduction that is needed to maintain grid reliability. We notify the local utilities of their share of this amount. It is up to the individual utilities to determine how they will implement the load shedding (i.e. rolling blackouts). Utility policies differ. Thus, to determine whether you will possibly be blacked out, contact your local utility. The utility schedules the curtailments and determines which portions of their grid (blocks, circuits, areas) will be blacked out and the timing of the rotation of the blackouts. The individual utilities also determine such things as blocks,...

ISO System Status Normal Operation All notices should be confirmed with the appropriate operating personnel prior to taking any action. Current Active Notice(s)No Current Notice Pending NoticesNo Pending Notices

Other Comments: The CAISO is declaring Restricted Maintenance Operations for the period 0700- 2200 today due to high loads and temperatures across the ISO control area. Yesterday/Weekend/Holiday Notable Events: At 1642 PST yesterday the CAISO requested SCE to shed 300 MW of interruptible load and 175 MW of pumping load due to the South of Lugo local area loading problem. Due to fires burning in the Southern California area, several 230-kV and 500-kV lines relayed during the 1453-1851 PST time frame which created the limitation overload. The CAISO declared a transmission emergency from 1959 through 2359 yesterday due to the...

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- California Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed suit Thursday against Enron Corp. and several subsidiaries for allegedly manipulating market prices during the state's 2000-01 energy crisis and costing Californians billions of dollars. The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, seeks restitution and unspecified damages from the Houston-based energy giant whose trading practices are under investigation by the Justice Department. --snip--The filing comes amid the attorney general's ongoing battle with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to collect as much as $9 billion in refunds from energy wholesalers that officials say the state is owed to cover overcharges...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) California Attorney General Bill Lockyer has asked federal regulators to reverse a May order that demands the state pay Enron and other energy companies almost $270 million in refunds stemming from the 2000-01 energy crisis. The refunds add ``insult to injury by rewarding the sellers a second time for their market manipulation activities and predatory pricing,'' the attorney's general motion said. It was filed Monday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. ----snip----- The order was particularly unfair considering ``the recent Enron tapes and so much other evidence of market manipulation by the energy generators,'' Lockyer said in...

Pat Wood chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, expects California will recieve an additional $3 billion in refunds from energy traders who allegedly manipulated the energy markets in 2000 and 2001. Woods comments came in response to a letter sent last week from California's Democratic Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer demanding $8.9 billion in refunds for their state for alleged market manipulation by Enron and others. The Senators letter came after the release of the audiotapes of Enron power traders gloating over ill-gotten gains. -snip-A previous estimate of refunds provided by a FERC administrative law judge (ALJ)suggested that...

A federal court in California has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Port of Seattle against a dozen Northwest utilities and power marketing companies, including Puget Sound Energy. That suit charged that the companies conspired to manipulate the West Coast power market and drive up the cost of electricity during the region's supply crunch and price spike in 2000 and 2001. But a judge in U.S. District Court for the southern district of California dismissed the complaint this week, ruling that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction over such issues. That disclosure came from a Securities and Exchange Commission...

<p>BEND, Ore. - Wholesale power rates may be higher this fall thanks to Oregon's fast-evaporating snowpack and low river levels.</p> <p>Those conditions could leave hydroelectric plants unable to produce much power, according to a spokesman from the Bonneville Power Administration, which operates 31 dams in the Pacific Northwest and sells electricity to utility companies.</p>

WASHINGTON (AP) Federal energy regulators on Monday strongly disputed California's claims that it's being improperly denied billions in refunds from the state's 2000-2001 power crisis. California Attorney General Bill Lockyer's arguments amount to ``only invective,'' the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in filings with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. FERC spokesman Bryan Lee went further, issuing a statement labeling recent Lockyer court filings an ``attack designed to generate headlines'' and calling on the attorney general to ``stop gaming the press.'' The agency's arguments came in response to motions Lockyer submitted last month accusing FERC of...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Williams Cos. plans to cut more than 110 of its energy trading employees in Tulsa in coming weeks as part of a reduced commitment to the struggling business. All 330 energy trading floor workers in Tulsa will receive 60-day notices warning them of the pending layoffs, but exactly how many will lose their jobs has not yet been decided, the company said Tuesday. Federal law requires 60-day notice when more than a third of workers or at least 50 employees at a given site are affected, spokeswoman...

Bill Lunch, OPB's political scion, said on this evening's episode of the locally-produced media sitcom, Seven Days, that the new Oregon power rules that went into effect today represent deregulation, which did not work in California. The tiny problem with that statement is that California didn't try deregulation -- and the failure to do so is the precise reason it ended up in a power mess. Mr. Lunch, in logics crunch, just has to change his name Into his bench carve Mr. Mensch, his honest claim to fame. For dilly here and dally there, he oft doth reason dread And...