Fwd: Power & Gas Weekly

Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Mime-Version: 1.0
Message-Id: <42930579.16.15842@mbox.surecom.com<
Reply-To: ronk@pennenergy.com
Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2002 11:57:09 EST
From: "PennEnergy"<ronk@pennenergy.com<
Subject: Power & Gas Weekly
To: vkaminski@aol.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

=================================================
POWER & GAS WEEKLY
January 08, 2002
=================================================
Every Tuesday, Power & Gas Weekly delivers a summary
of the latest worldwide news from OGJ Online on
the converging natural gas and power industries.
Please visit http://www.ogjonline.com for more
information on each news story.

=================================================

-----------------\Advertisement/-----------------
Attend DistribuTECH 2002, Feb. 27 - March 1st in Miami
Beach, Florida! DistribuTECH is the leading information
technology and utility automation conference and
exhibition. For details, visit http://www.distributech.com
-------------------------------------------------

MUNICIPAL GAS GROUP ASKS US EIA FOR
INTEGRATED GAS REPORTING
Jan-07-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The American Public Gas Association
Monday asked the US Energy Information
Administration to integrate
gas storage data with other natural
gas statistics to prevent unwarranted
price volatility. EIA plans
to begin reporting natural gas storage
data on a weekly instead of monthly
basis beginning in May 2002.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131480

AMEREN CORP. BOOSTS 2001 EARNINGS ESTIMATE
Jan-07-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gas and electric holding company Ameren
Corp. Monday boosted its 2001
earnings forecast and said it reached
agreement with Missouri regulators
on a schedule for a rate case.
Ameren, St. Louis, Mo., reported
it expected to earn $3.40-$3.50/share
this year, up from earlier projections
of $3.30-$3.45/share.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131466

PUBLIC POWER GROUP SAYS FERC AFFILIATE
RULE COULD HURT RETAIL CUSTOMER
Jan-07-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Proposed federal rules requiring a
single standard governing relations
between gas and electric transmission
suppliers and their energy affiliates
could interfere with retail
'one-stop shopping,' the American
Public Power Association said.
FERC proposed uniform rules for natural
gas pipelines and electric
transmission suppliers and asked for
industry comment last fall.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131436

EMERGENCY PEAKER PLANT PERMITTING PROJECT
ENDS IN CALIFORNIA
Jan-07-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With electricity prices falling and
money tight, the last peaking power
project pending under an emergency
program to get electric generating
capacity up and running quickly
in California was withdrawn from
consideration. Pegasus Power Project
was a 180 Mw expansion of an
existing plant at a prison in San
Bernardino County. The application
was withdrawn Jan. 3.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131414

FITCH DOWNGRADES TECO CITING ENRON
TIES
Jan-07-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Credit rating agency Fitch IBCA Friday
downgraded energy holding company
Teco Energy Inc. and its Tampa
Electric unit, citing TECO's increased
leverage and the business risk
associated with independent power
projects. It also cited TECO's
exposure to Nepco, an indirect subsidiary
of Enron Corp. and the engineering
and procurement contractor
on several of TECO's merchant generation
projects.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131331

-----------------\Advertisement/-----------------
CLIENTS: Find a Consultant! ProSavvy's Consulting
Procurement Service gives you FREE access to over
17,000 prequalified consultants. Visit
http://pe-pennnet.prosavvy.com
-------------------------------------------------

TEXAS PUC ADVISED TO DEVELOP RESERVE
MARGIN REQUIREMENTS
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deregulation notwithstanding, Texas
electricity generators should be
required to maintain a minimum reserve
margin, the staff of the Public
Utility Commission of Texas said
Friday. The PUC staff has been grappling
with whether to create a
mechanism that would ensure a minimum
reserve margin or whether margins
should be left to market forces.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131303

ELECTRICITY PRICES RANGE WIDELY IN
RELIANT HL&P'S TEXAS TERRITORY
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Texas electric retailers have begun
dangling incentives in front of consumers
to convince them to switch
providers. The market fully opened
for retail competition Jan. 1.
Terms in Reliant HL&P's Texas territory
range from a $25 credit to deals
that don't require contracts
or impose termination fees.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131214

OMB WANTS EPA TO REVISIT NSR FOR POWER
PLANTS AND REFINERIES
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The White House Office of Management
and Budget wants to review and possibly
rescind rules that govern
how power plants and refiners monitor
stationary source pollution. Congress
required OMB to issue a report
on the costs and benefits of
federal regulations.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131207

ELECTRIC POWER NEWS BRIEFS, JAN. 4
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Williams Cos. Inc. ... Sierra Pacific
Power Co. ... UtiliCorp United
Inc. ... Dominion Resources Inc. ...
United Illuminating Co. ... Equitable
Resources Inc. ... Calpine
Corp. ... Cross-Sound Cable Co. ...
TransEnergie US Ltd. ... West Texas
Gas Inc. ... Southern Union Co.
... Midlands Electricity PLC ...
FirstEnergy Corp. ... Idaho Power
Co. ... Astaris LLC
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131201

PPL SLASHES EARNINGS FORECAST AND CANCELS
POWER PROJECTS
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Allentown, Pa.-based PPL Corp. Friday
cut its earnings forecast for 2001
and 2002 and warned earnings could
even be worse than estimated
because of a write-down on an investment
in a UK utility. PPL also said
it will cancel about 2,100 Mw
of planned development valued at $1.3
billion.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131191

PRODUCERS, PIPELINES IN DISPUTE OVER
PIPELINE QUALITY GAS SPECS
Jan-04-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Natural gas pipeline operators turned
up the heat in a dispute with producers
over specifications for pipeline
quality gas. The Natural Gas
Supply Association asked FERC to
look into whether pipelines are
using gas quality specifications to
restrict gas shipments. The Interstate
Natural Gas Association of
America responded the charge 'hardly
bears discussion.'
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131160

LIPA STAFF RECOMMENDS 4,000 MW PURCHASE
FROM KEYSPAN
Jan-03-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Long Island Power Authority staff
recommended LIPA exercise an option
to buy 4,000 Mw of generating
capacity from Keyspan Corp. The LIPA
board is expected to conduct public
hearings in January on whether
to buy the KeySpan generation and
make a decision in February.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131137

SENATE COMMITTEE EXPANDS INQUIRY INTO
ENRON'S QUICK DEMISE
Jan-03-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Senate Democratic leaders Wednesday
said they would subpoena documents
from the directors and top executives
of Enron Corp. in an investigation
of why the company collapsed
so quickly. Governmental Affairs
Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman,
(D-Conn.) said his committee will
hold hearings Jan.24.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131127

SHELL TOP BIDDER ON LNG CAPACITY AT
EL PASO'S ELBA ISLAND FACILITY
Jan-03-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shell Gas & Power, a unit of Royal
Dutch/Shell Group, acquired rights
to all the additional storage capacity
El Paso Corp. is planning at
the Elba Island liquefied natural
gas (LNG) terminal near Savannah,
Ga. Shell offered the top bid in
an auction among four bidders for
3.3 bcf of new storage capacity at
the terminal.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131122

INDEX SHOWS MANUFACTURING DECLINE SLOWING
BOOSTING GAS, POWER HOPES
Jan-03-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Institute of Supply Management,
formerly the National Association
of Purchasing Management, said the
manufacturing sector may turn around
faster than previously anticipated,
giving hope that demand for
natural gas and electricity will
improve later this year.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131078

FERC SETS MAR. 15 DEADLINE FOR ELECTRICITY
RULES ORGANIZATION
Jan-03-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
US federal regulators have given electricity
suppliers and consumers
a Mar. 15 deadline to decide who will
determine the rules for reliability
and business practices. The
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
said it's ready to designate an
organization or develop the standards
itself.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131077

PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC SEEKING INJUNCTION
AGAINST STATE
Jan-02-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. asked a
US bankruptcy court to bar a consumer
advocate unit of the California
Public Utilities Commission from
efforts to obtain correspondence
with its parent PG&E Corp. concerning
the utility's bankruptcy filing.
The PUC has opposed the company's
reorganization plan, claiming Pacific
Gas & Electric is trying to
escape state regulation.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131057

TEXAS CALLERS EAGER FOR INFORMATION
ABOUT ELECTRIC COMPETITION PROGRAM
Jan-02-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the first full day of the newly
competitive electricity market in
Texas, some power retailers said they
were swamped with calls from prospective
customers. Some customers
learned it could take up to a week
to get service installed when
they move.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=131004

EDISON SAYS MIRANT CANCELING PURCHASE
OF PUERTO RICO'S ECOELECTRICA
Jan-02-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A unit of Edison International, the
troubled California utility holding
company, said energy marketer Mirant
Corp. was canceling acquisition
of 50% of EcoElectrica, a power
project in Puerto Rico. Edison Mission
Energy said it didn't agree
Mirant has the right to terminate
the deal and is reviewing its alternatives.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=130984

NEW YORK REGULATOR URGES MORE REDUNDANCY
AFTER SEPT. 11 'WATERSHED'
Jan-02-2002
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Permanent repair of New York City electric
and natural gas services disrupted
by terrorist attacks could
take months, according to the chairman
of the New York Public Service
Commission. Maureen Helmer said
Sept. 11 represented a watershed
date in the way regulators and the
utility industry view security.
http://ogj.pennnet.com/articles/web_article_display.cfm?ARTICLE_ID=130940

-----------------\Advertisement/-----------------
The 5th Pipeline Rehabilitation and Maintenance
Conference: A global forum examining the fitness for
purpose of oil and transmission lines. Jan. 19-23,
2002, Bahrain. Web site: http://www.pipeline-rehab.com
-------------------------------------------------

=================================================

To SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE to Power & Gas Weekly
visit http://www.clientize.com/pennenergy.

Other newsletters available from PennEnergy:

OGJ ONLINE THIS WEEK - A summary of the latest
upstream, downstream and government/regulatory
news on OGJ Online.

EQUIPMENT FOR SALE ALERT - A summary of energy
equipment available for immediate sale on OGJ
Equipment Exchange.

EQUIPMENT WANTED ALERT - A summary of energy
items OGJ Equipment Exchange clients want to
purchase.

For information on advertising in Power & Gas
Weekly e-mail Janet Hall at janeth@pennenergy.com.

Copyright 2002
PennEnergy Inc / Oil & Gas Journal
All Rights Reserved
=================================================