GAS CO. FEARS IT WILL BE LOSER IN CREDIT CRISIS.Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer Southern California Gas This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. Co. officials said Tuesday that a proposal going before state power regulators today would put the company at risk by forcing it to supply fuel to Pacific Gas & Electric on credit. PG&E, its credit destroyed by energy deregulation Deregulation The reduction or elimination of government power in a particular industry, usually enacted to create more competition within the industry. Notes: Traditional areas that have been deregulated are the telephone and airline industries. , has sought an emergency order compelling The Gas Co. to use its credit to buy $300 million worth of natural gas each month for PG&E's 14 million customers. The Gas Co. said the plan would make it the equivalent of a banker for PG&E and that it might not be able to collect, putting it into the same financial danger as PG&E and Southern California Edison Southern California Edison (or SCE Corp), the largest subsidiary of Edison International (NYSE: EIX), is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California. It provides 11 million people with electricity. . ``This is not an issue of inadequate gas supplies,'' said Gas Co. spokeswoman Denise King. ``This is a credit issue. ``Forcing The Gas Co. to buy natural gas for PG&E will drag us down the same path into insolvency. We simply cannot pick up PG&E's financial burden without jeopardizing the 18 million people we serve.'' The Public Utilities Commission will consider today whether to order PG&E to better account for its electric and gas debts before it reviews the emergency request Feb. 8. But Gas Co. officials say they need an immediate answer: its bankers are threatening not to renew short-term credit lines as long as the request is on the table. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, business advocates are not happy with the proposal. ``It's unbelievable,'' said David Fleming
David Fleming , chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``You've got two very, very sick companies, and you want to make a third one sick (as well)?'' PG&E had requested earlier this month that the Southern California utility begin buying gas Feb. 6, the day a federal order expires requiring gas and electric suppliers to sell energy to California's cash-strapped utilities. With suppliers demanding advance payment, PG&E risks shutting off gas to 3.8 million households and businesses. ``Our people are in jeopardy of losing gas service, and we're looking at any solution we can,'' said PG&E spokeswoman Staci Homrig. ``The proposal we have made would ask SoCal Gas to procure To cause something to happen; to find and obtain something or someone. Procure refers to commencing a proceeding; bringing about a result; persuading, inducing, or causing a person to do a particular act; obtaining possession or control over an item; or making a person gas for our customers only if they would do so without hurting their customers.'' PG&E has few options other than to give its gas business away to companies willing to ``swoop swoop v. swooped, swoop·ing, swoops v.intr. 1. To move in a sudden sweep: The bird swooped down on its prey. 2. in'' on its customers. It could also request its industrial users to buy gas for eventual repayment by residential and small-business users - not a likely prospect considering most ``noncore'' industrial users are independent power generators owed millions by PG&E. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion