The drop in gas load that usually accompanies a weekendreduction of business activity failed to dampen the cash market’sbullishness Friday. Though a few points (El Paso-Permian andTrunkline-South Texas) eked out only penny upticks and CIG and Wahawere essentially flat, most markets achieved gains of 3-7 cents.Influencing factors were unchanged from earlier in the week,sources said: Western cold, Southern heat, a higher screen andelectric utilities using gas in peaking units while many nuclearand coal plants are down for refueling or other maintenance.

The casualty toll in the Thursday explosion of TECO Energy’s1,270-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Tampa, FL (see Daily GPI, April 9) rose to two deaths and50 injuries in later reports Friday. A prognosis for returning theplant to service was unavailable from TECO by press deadlineFriday. However, a spokesman for Florida Power & Light said all ofthe state’s electric utilities besides TECO had adequate powerreserves.

Electric generation load for gas remained strong in Florida,however, and in the rest of the South also. A big aggregatortrading at 10 Louisiana points saw all of them averaging $2.01 ormore, topped off by a $2.08-12 range into Florida GasTransmission-Zone 2. The $1.98 low ends of its Louisiana rangesoccurred on ANR and Tennessee’s 800 Leg.

Midcontinent numbers were strong in the $2 area, a marketersaid. Chicago citygates started with a $2.08 bid “before the bellrang” and went straight up with the screen as soon as tradingopened, he said. The marketer thinks end-users must be expectinghigher prices later because normally they would be withdrawing thecheap gas they have in storage, but instead are continuing to buyin the spot market.

Cash has moved up almost every morning over the last two weeksas a sort of affirmation of the run-ups that have been prevalent inthe prior evening’s Access futures trading, a Houston marketersaid. He also pointed out that the last two Aprils have hadgenerally moderate temperatures in the South; “this time it’s muchhotter.”

To a Western trader, it looked like everything “was going toshoot up real high this [Friday] morning, but then things settleddown to small gains.” The West was expected to remain on the coolside over the weekend but to begin warming early this week.

Nymex’s early-morning strength was the main reason for increasesto the US$1.90 area at Sumas and to the low C$2.50s for bothintra-Alberta and Westcoast Station 2, according to a Calgarysource.

©Copyright 1999 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.