Williams to pay $140 mln to utilities
By Lisa Sanders, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 4:22 PM ET Feb. 25, 2004
DALLAS (CBS.MW) -- Williams Cos. said Wednesday it has resolved claims of overcharging and market manipulation of natural gas and power markets with two California utilities.
Williams (WMB: news, chart, profile), a production and pipeline company, saw its shares rise 46 cents, or 5.3 percent, to close at $9.21 on heavy volume. The company said the earnings impact of the settlement was accounted for in its fourth-quarter results.
Under the terms of the settlement, Williams will pay about $140 million to Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a subsidiary of PG&E Corp. (PCG: news, chart, profile), and Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International (EIX: news, chart, profile), and other energy buyers. The settlement covers the period of Jan. 1, 2000 to Dec. 31, 2001.
PG&E said it would get about $75 million of the settlement amount, and the rest would be paid to other market participants.
The settlement is subject to approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Pacific Gas and Electric filed for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, caught in a squeeze of consumer rate caps and rising energy prices in California's deregulated market, which prohibited long-term purchase agreements for energy supplies.
"This settlement brings us another step closer in closing the book on California's energy crisis," said Roger Peters, Pacific Gas and Electric Company's senior vice president and general counsel, in a press release. "We are pleased to be able to reach an agreement with The Williams Cos. that is fair to the company and is in the best interests of our customers."
PG&E shares were up 27 cents to close at $27.55. |
