Penn Virginia Corp., headquartered in Radnor, PA, has retainedWaterous & Co. to assist with the potential sale of a portionof the company’s Appalachia oil and gas properties. The properties,with an estimated 70 Bcfe of proved reserves are 97% natural gas.Current net production from the properties is 7 MMcf/d. A data roomto review detailed property information is expected to open inHouston later this month. More information is available atwww.waterous.com.

Calgary’s Grey Wolf Exploration Inc. said it is acquiringnatural gas producing properties and undeveloped land in the areaof Canada’s Sundre/Caroline, AL, considered the company’s core areaof exploration. Under the agreement, Grey Wolf will exchange itsnatural gas holdings in the Redwater, Radway, Thorhild, Newbrookand Abee areas, along with $500,000 in cash in exchange for theassets. Grey Wolf already owns interests in the properties, and thenewest acquisition will increase its working interest to 44% from18%. Current production is 1 MMcfe/d to 6 Mmcfe/d in natural gasand natural gas liquids.

FPL Energy Services, headquartered in Juno Beach, FL, willinclude more Florida customers under an expansion program beginningthis fall. Following approval by the Florida Public ServiceCommission, FPL will begin natural gas service to businesses inTampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach andMiami Beach. FPL Energy is an affiliate of Florida Power &Light Co., which serves 3.8 million customers.

Ohio regulators last week approved Cincinnati Gas &Electric’s deregulation plan, which includes a 5% rate cut forresidential customers beginning Jan. 1, and a promise of moresavings for both residential and commercial accounts. The plan wasapproved by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, implementinglegislation enacted in 1999 to deregulate the state’s electricindustry. CG&E will continue to provide electricitytransmission and delivery service to the service area, and it willbe regulated by PUCO. The plan freezes rates through Dec. 31, 2005and unbundles electric rates into separate transmission,distribution, ancillary services and generation charges. Toencourage switching among residential customers, the plan includesa shopping credit of 5 cents a kilowatt hour for the first 20% ofthose who switch as well as a waiver on the switching fee.

Utilities that serve customers in 19 states, including AmericanElectric Power Co., Southern Co., Cinergy, FirstEnergy Corp.,Vectren Corp., Teco Energy Inc. and Illinova Corp., were given 13more months to complete upgrades or replacements of coal-firedpower plants after a federal court extended the deadline forfederal Clean Air Act rules last week. The U.S. Court of Appealsfor the District of Columbia gave the states until May 31, 2004,instead of the former date of May 1, 2003, to reduce nitrogen oxideemissions. The rules were first issued in September 1998 by theU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but have been challenged bylawsuits since June 1999.

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