Williams took a bigger plunge into the energy marketing businessrecently when it acquired full ownership of EnergyVision bypurchasing the 50% interest in the company that was held by BECEnergy. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Prior to the deal, Williams and BEC Energy, parent of BostonEdison, owned the Burlington, MA-based marketer jointly.EnergyVision is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams, which isheadquartered in Tulsa, OK.

EnergyVision currently markets natural gas and energy servicesto small commercial and industrial customers throughout the NewEngland region. “For the time being” those two customer classeswill remain the company’s “target base,” a Williams spokeswomansaid. It has a total of about 700 customers and provides them with16,000 MMBtu/d of gas, said Tom Lawson, director of retail salesfor Williams.

He noted that EnergyVision is staying out of the power marketingbusiness for now, but will probably enter it in 1999-2000. “Theregulatory environmental is not quite right yet” on the electricside in New England, he told NGI. “The stranded-cost situationreally prevents the marketer from being able to compete in thatmarket.” EnergyVision also hopes to eventually get into theresidential gas market.

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