Deal With Suppliers Not Likely

Prospects for a deal on the almost $9 billion that California contends it was overcharged by power suppliers appeared dim Sunday as settlement talks neared the end with no compromise in sight.

Curtis L. Wagner Jr., the federal mediator in the closed-door negotiations, told reporters he had begun to write a final report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which has said it will impose a settlement if the parties fail to reach agreement.

However, Wagner, who is also FERC’s chief judge, said he would continue to seek a deal through today, the deadline he had set two weeks ago. Wagner said he expected the talks, which began two weeks ago, to end by about 1:30 p.m. PDT today.

“I’m still hoping for a big settlement, but we may just have partial settlements,” Wagner said. “It’s still hard to tell.”

The participants spent Sunday afternoon listening to technical presentations on how California calculated its refund estimate.

Wagner said he would release a transcript of the session so that FERC’s governing board could refer to it in its deliberations. “If you need something to cure insomnia, get the record and read it,” he said.

While California has stood firm on its demand for $8.9 billion, a source familiar with the talks said generators had offered no more than $500 million.