Utility Sees Pull Outs from Providers

Last week, the federal government ordered out-of-state natural gas suppliers to continue to sell and deliver gas to California through Jan. 23, but some power suppliers have refused to continue selling to the California utility Pacific Gas & Electric.

Pacific Gas & Electric officials released a statement of concern that the limited duration of the order was not long enough and suggested that the length be extended at least through February to help meet expected February gas demands.

Nearly all of the utility's natural gas suppliers refuse to sell to the company without special payment arrangements, according to Pacific Gas and Electric. Several of its suppliers have stopped deliveries.

The California Public Utilities Commission, nervous that Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison, (see California Utility to Lose Green Power) might go out of business and stop serving their customers because of their financial difficulties, passed an order barring the utilities from doing so. The order caused the utilities to respond that they had no intention of not fulfilling their obligations to their customers.