JUICE: Here's to Two Years: The Real Thing

In 1953, I.F. Stone was dissatisfied with his work as a journalist in the mainstream media. He packed up his typewriter, applied for a $3,000 loan, and started his own independent publication. Stone was ahead of his time, publishing breaking news before his corporate colleagues. He was the real thing. According to reports, about 70,000 subscribers agreed with him. Circuit is also the real thing. After two years in the business of independent reporting on energy, you, dear reader, get your power news fix here every week and sometimes in between with special Web postings for breaking news. We here at Circuit keep our ears to the ground on policy developments, get the skinny behind new laws, and tune in to the twists and turns of regulation and rule developments. When you whisper in our editorial ear, we ponder. Are we talking about a possible trend? An agreement that leads to breakthrough policy? An end run around the Legislature? Another blackout looming? Or none of the above? In truth, this industry is like one big bickering family, with its feuds, shifting alliances, backstabbing, and bum-slapping. And as with family members, we don't refrain from calling actors' actions and plans by their name-be it cheesy, dangerous, inspired, or just plain dumb. Our bottom line is to provide honest, thought-provoking reporting and editorials to keep you ahead of the curve. A nd while our Dr. Snarky, and her new officemate Dr. Shrinky, have persnickety gossipy moments, Circuit 's weekly reports look beyond the attention-grabbing personal intrigues to the bigger picture. Before laying out what is in store for the next few months, we'd like to highlight some recent changes here at Circuit . Lisa Weinzimer is no longer on our staff. For the last six months, Lisa, also known as Lulu?and sometimes Lili?has been reporting for Platts. She now has many more editors to keep happy and reports that she "misses speaking and gossiping with Circuit editors, who know the background of California energy policy and politics." We miss her too. We have added a number of out-of-state reporters in the last several months. We now have writers on both coasts, throughout California, and in the Rockies. Jim Brumm , our Eastern Seaboard correspondent, started covering energy as a financial reporter at Oil Daily in the spring of 1973?six months before that price shock known as Arab I. His journalism career began 13 years earlier in the U.S. Navy, which trained him at the Armed Forces Radio newsroom in New York City before sending him to Vietnam as Da Nang media representative for the Seabees. At Oil Daily , Jim covered FERC's first step toward deregulation before returning to Reuters New York, where he started the Energy Desk in 1983. He then wrote about energy equities through most of the 1990s. David Wagman is a Denver-based energy journalist. He is the former editor of Public Utilities Fortnightly magazine and served as executive editor for Financial Times Energy , where he created and ran the daily news analysis service Energy Insight. He was research editor for a university-based regulatory think tank. His articles have appeared in Energy Economist , Electric Perspectives , and Oil and Gas Investor magazines, among other publications. He also writes about water issues and domestic security. Mark Nero has been a journalist since 1995. He has written for numerous Southern California media outlets, including the Long Beach Press-Telegram , the San Diego Union Tribune , the San Bernardino County Sun , and Copley News Service. Based in San Diego, he's covered a variety of beats, including local government, education, the maritime shipping industry, and environmental issues. Our newest contributor is Dr. Shrinky Pants , a native of the Big Apple, who is a seasoned psychiatrist. Dr. Shrinky has been diagnosing, treating, and researching power-related angst since the birth of deregulation. As she likes to say, "People aren't the problem, the problem is the problem. So bring your problems to Dr. Shrinky." An officemate of gossip columnist Dr. Snarky, Shrinky is offering pro bono couch time for the energy industry when pieces by Circuit staff and guest Juice columnists require more scathing review. Our invaluable core writers, who've been with us almost as long as we've been in business, are William Kelly and Chris Keyser . Bill started off as our Southern California correspondent, but his beat has expanded geographically and issue-wise. In addition, both he and Chris contribute to our Juice editorials. We also would be lost without our copyeditor Patty Mote , who was part of Circuit 's launch, and layout magician Chris Carlsson . Rich Ferguson , our Dr. Unflappable, has been our gas industry columnist for well over a year. This year, Ferguson wins Circuit 's Crystal Orb Award for 2005. Ferguson opined in the June 17 issue that natural gas prices would reach $10/MMBtu. The contract for September 1 went to over $10/MMBtu on August 24. Katrina pushed the October contract to a peak of $11.86/MMBtu on September 1. The 12-month contract strip?perhaps more relevant to consumers?didn't go over $10 until Katrina struck, hitting $10.64/MMBtu on August 30 and reaching its high of $10.87/MMBtu on September 1. When Dr. Ferguson got the 4:00 a.m. call notifying him of his piece prize, he insisted that his assessment lacked pinpoint accuracy. But then he added flatly, "Hey, I'll take whatever credit you want to bestow." As to the coming year, we can see several inescapable issues-no matter how much some of you might want to check into a remote health spa for the duration. These include: The reregulation initiative. Proposition 80 will probably pass because of the public's anger at Enron. It won't have much at all to do with what's in the initiative. If it does indeed get voted through, it will end up in endless litigation. Global warming. In case you missed the news about Hurricane Katrina, global warming remains an issue close to California's regulatory and political heart. We will be watching attempts at importing coal-fired power and the possibility of counteracting the out-of-state contribution to global warming with precedent-setting state law that could require gasification and carbon sequestration. Energy agency reorganization, with or without the governor.Energy bill fallout. As the 1,700-plus-page energy bill's impact on our state-from liquefied natural gas siting to the neighborhood hydrogen gas station subsidy-becomes clearer, we will be sifting through its consequences. We will continue to translate new lingo incorporated into the energy industry lexicon-be it capacity market, regulatory asset, or native load. Our research often reveals that there is not a common agreement on what a new term of art may mean and what its parameters are. And at times, as with a capacity market, the definitions are in flux. Our guest editorials will continue to offer a diversity of voices on issues affecting the energy business. In our second year, our pool of guest editorial writers grew noticeably. Contributors included Don Felsinger, Sempra president and chief operating officer, Assemblymember Keith Richman, and Contra County Times energy reporter Rick Jurgens. We here at Circuit thank you for your continued support for independent media. As we embark on our third year of business, we pledge to continue to bring you the real thing. And don't forget to tell your friends about us. Elizabeth MCarthy & J.A. Savage

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JUICE: Here’s to Two Years: The Real Thing

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