5. Comments and Reply Comments

While there may be a wide range of opinion on many aspects of the respondents' proposals, a review of the proposals, comments and reply comments indicates a general consensus that a variety of natural gas supply sources and cost effective access to those sources will benefit California ratepayers and should be encouraged by the Commission to the extent possible. Many parties advocate for a level playing field for competition to occur and to produce the best deals for ratepayers. Toward that end, parties urge the establishment of equal, non-discriminatory access to the interstate gas utility systems, as well as caution to avoid creating market advantages for specific commodity or transportation suppliers.