Memorandum of Understanding
Western is leading federal efforts to "explore relieving transmission constraints on Path 15." (Western Comments, November 13, 2001, p. 2.) Through this process, various public and private entities have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to participate in a Path 15 expansion project. Western identifies PG&E, PG&E National Energy Group, Kinder Morgan, Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC), Trans-Elect, Williams Energy Marketing and Trading Company, and Western as the project participants.3 The MOU provides a very general discussion of the planned expansion project but leaves to future agreements the definition of parties' shares of the project costs and benefits, as well as specific roles and responsibilities. Such agreements are to be executed no later than 90 days after the MOU was executed (i.e., by January 14, 2002).
3 PG&E filed a copy of the October 16, 2001 MOU with its November 6, 2001 motion. However, the filed document is signed only by PG&E and identifies additional project participants beyond those identified by Western in its November 13, 2001 comments. Efforts by the Administrative Law Judge assigned to A.01-04-012 to obtain a signed copy was unsuccessful.
