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Non-Tech : Auric Goldfinger's Short List -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RockyBalboa who wrote (7506)	1/28/2001 6:53:19 PM
From: RockyBalboa	Respond to of 19428

Stranded costs... California power reserves at critical lows for 13th day LOS ANGELES, Jan 28 (Reuters) - California entered a record 13th straight day of ``stage three'' power alerts on Sunday, with reserves at critical lows as state regulators prepared an audit of recent finances at the state's two largest utilities. The California Independent System Operator, which runs the state's wholesale power market, issued a stage three power alert on Friday and said the alert will remain in effect at least through the end of Monday, said ISO spokeswoman Lorie O'Donley. Such alerts are issued when power reserves are considered dangerously low and rolling blackouts become a possibility. Despite the alerts, however, no blackouts were expected on Sunday, according to O'Donley. Meanwhile, an audit of the finances of the state's two largest utilities, Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International (NYSE:EIX - news), and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., a unit of PG&E Corp. (NYSE:PCG - news) was expected to be released soon, according to officials at the utilities. Both utilities say the audit will show the extent of their losses since they began paying more for power than they were allowed to charge consumers starting last May. The discrepancy occurred because utilities bought power in a deregulated wholesale marketplace, but were only allowed to sell the power to consumers at regulated prices. The utilities say the audit also will show that last summer they finished paying off money they owed for power projects they began in recent years but later had to write off because they became impractical under new deregulation policies. Showing that those ``stranded assets'' have been paid off is important because state utilities by law cannot raise their rates until those debts are gone. PG&E claims the audit will show it paid off its stranded asset debts as early as last May, while Edison claims its debts were paid off by August. A PG&E spokesman said results of the audit were supposed to be released on Sunday. A spokesman from the California Public Utilities Commission, which conducted the audit, could not be reached for comment. California Gov. Gray Davis previously said he expected to receive a copy of the audit over the weekend, but Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio could not confirm if the report had been released. Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney said the Bush administration will hold a meeting on Monday to discuss the California energy crisis. Cheney, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said President Bush has ``summoned the relevant Cabinet and agency heads'' for a session in the White House. Spokesmen from Edison and PG&E did not know if representatives from their companies were invited to attend the meeting and, if so, whether they would go. Maviglio said Davis would not go to the meeting, but it was not known if anyone from the governor's office was invited. Maviglio also said the California Legislature is expected to pass legislation this week enabling the state to sign long-term energy purchasing agreements with power generators. The state would then use its good credit to buy power at low rates and sell it to the ailing utilities at cost.