california update 6 / 19 / 01 executive summary
? angelides to announce bridge loan financing
? us senate democrats go back & forth with ferc
? sdg & e line sale overview
? california dwr contracts add tension
? ge accommodates western power sellers
? pg & e executives profit even in bankruptcy
angelides to announce bridge loan financing
as reported on the wires and confirmed by sources , state treasurer , angelides will announce a $ 4 . 3 b bridge loan today at 2 pm pst . the majority of the loan will be provided by j . p . morgan chase and lehman brothers .
us senates withdraws price cap legislation , almost
in response to yesterday ' s ferc order , the senate energy committee chairman bingaman , and california us senators feinstein and boxer have decided to temporarily withdraw legislation aimed at setting wholesale power price caps in western states . the action displays an effort by lawmakers to acknowledge both bush ' s and ferc ' s meek spirit of cooperativeness and allow some time to determine the order ' s effectiveness . at least one legislator remains unsatisfied as sources report that sen . gordon smith ( r - oregon ) plans to author a bill by july that would attempt to extend the one year term on yesterdays ferc order to cover the northwest ' s power shortages winter 2002 . acknowledging the seasonal power swap between california and its northern neighbors , smith views current mitigation plan covering two california summers , and only one northwest winter , as unfair .
sdg & e line sale
through this deal , sempra and the state assert that san diego gas & electric ' s $ 750 m undercollect can be eliminated without a state purchase of sdg & e ' s transmission assets , which is the only element of the deal that would have to be approved by the legislature . ( this is a key difference between this agreement and the socal mou . ) the other tenets of the deal would only have to be approved by the puc . in other words , sempra claims that it will be able to eliminate sdg & e ' s undercollect just by dealing with the puc rather than the legislature . sources suggest that this may be in reaction to the failure of the socal mou to move in the legislature . sources also indicate that the earlier trans - elect offer to purchase sdg & e lines for ( $ 1 . 8 b ) considerably less than the states bid only makes the california legislature more leery of approving the socal mou . mou attached below .
davis kindles new fire over dwr contracts
friday ' s release of the cadwr power contracts motioned republicans to begin a new wave of complaints against the governor remarking that the contract information was lacking and data that the public has a right to know had been blacked out . assembly member dave cox ( minority leader ) stated that the most troubling items were the clauses that exempt generators from having to pay windfall profit taxes or environmental penalties , and instead these would be paid by taxpayers . backlash from the republicans has been increasing as a new wave of california television commercials peg davis as the root of california ' s energy woes .
ge out west
sources report that there are 3 or 4 ge generator sets ( peaker plants ) on the market now for $ 14 - $ 15 m . this is because the people who bought these units do not want to go forward and get into the california market because it is " too arbitrary . " sources report that the sellers of these generator sets made this decision beginning approximately a week ago . additionally , sources believe that ge may move to cost - plus - based pricing for sellers of power in order to provide stable financing for generators over the long term , though this would mean less profits than in the past .
pg & e executives profit even in bankruptcy
as reported on 6 - 14 , sources continue to believe that socal executives are closely following the events unfolding in the pg & e bankruptcy case , as mentioned in last thursday ' s report " judge montali approved large bonuses for pg & e senior management after pg & e ' s filing made bryson and other members of his team " reconsider " the merits of bankruptcy . " today ' s news reports of judge montali ' s order providing pg & e executive with $ 17 . 5 m in bonuses just reiterates the point to bryson that pg & e executives remain well - paid even in bankruptcy thus suggesting socal could do equally well in the event of a filing . sources suggest that socal ' s current cash position weighs less heavily in determining a bankruptcy filing than the prospect of asset seizures / liens ( however , sources continue to make inquiries as to socal ' s cash flow situation . )
california update 6 / 19 / 01
executive summary
? angelides to announce bridge loan financing
? us senate democrats go back & forth with ferc
? sdg & e line sale overview
? california dwr contracts add tension
? ge accommodates western power sellers
? pg & e executives profit even in bankruptcy
angelides to announce bridge loan financing
as reported on the wires and confirmed by sources , state treasurer , angelides will announce a $ 4 . 3 b bridge loan today at 2 pm pst . the majority of the loan will be provided by j . p . morgan chase and lehman brothers .
us senates withdraws price cap legislation , almost
in response to yesterday ' s ferc order , the senate energy committee chairman bingaman , and california us senators feinstein and boxer have decided to temporarily withdraw legislation aimed at setting wholesale power price caps in western states . the action displays an effort by lawmakers to acknowledge both bush ' s and ferc ' s meek spirit of cooperativeness and allow some time to determine the order ' s effectiveness . at least one legislator remains unsatisfied as sources report that sen . gordon smith ( r - oregon ) plans to author a bill by july that would attempt to extend the one year term on yesterdays ferc order to cover the northwest ' s power shortages winter 2002 . acknowledging the seasonal power swap between california and its northern neighbors , smith views current mitigation plan covering two california summers , and only one northwest winter , as unfair .
sdg & e line sale
through this deal , sempra and the state assert that san diego gas & electric ' s $ 750 m undercollect can be eliminated without a state purchase of sdg & e ' s transmission assets , which is the only element of the deal that would have to be approved by the legislature . ( this is a key difference between this agreement and the socal mou . ) the other tenets of the deal would only have to be approved by the puc . in other words , sempra claims that it will be able to eliminate sdg & e ' s undercollect just by dealing with the puc rather than the legislature . sources suggest that this may be in reaction to the failure of the socal mou to move in the legislature . sources also indicate that the earlier trans - elect offer to purchase sdg & e lines for ( $ 1 . 8 b ) considerably less than the states bid only makes the california legislature more leery of approving the socal mou . mou attached below .
davis kindles new fire over dwr contracts
friday ' s release of the cadwr power contracts motioned republicans to begin a new wave of complaints against the governor remarking that the contract information was lacking and data that the public has a right to know had been blacked out . assembly member dave cox ( minority leader ) stated that the most troubling items were the clauses that exempt generators from having to pay windfall profit taxes or environmental penalties , and instead these would be paid by taxpayers . backlash from the republicans has been increasing as a new wave of california television commercials peg davis as the root of california ' s energy woes .
ge out west
sources report that there are 3 or 4 ge generator sets ( peaker plants ) on the market now for $ 14 - $ 15 m . this is because the people who bought these units do not want to go forward and get into the california market because it is " too arbitrary . " sources report that the sellers of these generator sets made this decision beginning approximately a week ago . additionally , sources believe that ge may move to cost - plus - based pricing for sellers of power in order to provide stable financing for generators over the long term , though this would mean less profits than in the past .
pg & e executives profit even in bankruptcy
as reported on 6 - 14 , sources continue to believe that socal executives are closely following the events unfolding in the pg & e bankruptcy case , as mentioned in last thursday ' s report " judge montali approved large bonuses for pg & e senior management after pg & e ' s filing made bryson and other members of his team " reconsider " the merits of bankruptcy . " today ' s news reports of judge montali ' s order providing pg & e executive with $ 17 . 5 m in bonuses just reiterates the point to bryson that pg & e executives remain well - paid even in bankruptcy thus suggesting socal could do equally well in the event of a filing . sources suggest that socal ' s current cash position weighs less heavily in determining a bankruptcy filing than the prospect of asset seizures / liens ( however , sources continue to make inquiries as to socal ' s cash flow situation . )