Eagle Energy Partners Inc., which received permission last month from FERC to sell natural gas and power capacity, energy and ancillary services at market-based rates, opened shop last Tuesday with some familiar faces at the helm and behind the scenes, including former Dynegy Inc. Chairman Chuck Watson. The new company plans to focus on physical energy delivery for producers, suppliers and end users.

Watson has been named chairman of the new company but will not be active in day-to-day business, CEO Griff Jones told NGI . Watson is expected, however, to advise and counsel the management and use his many contacts to pursue business opportunities. Watson, who founded the original energy merchant and Dynegy predecessor Natural Gas Clearinghouse in 1985, resigned from Dynegy in May 2002 after running the company for 17 years (see NGI, June 3, 2002).

“We feel like Chuck brings an unprecedented amount of industry contacts with him and will be a big asset to our company,” said Jones, who was formerly Dynegy’s senior vice president of marketing and origination. “We’re honored to have him join us.”

Eagle Energy will be headquartered in Houston, and currently it has about 12 employees. The president is Cliff Hare, Dynegy’s former president of marketing and origination. Jones said the company closed with some undisclosed investors last week and was able to participate “to a certain degree” in bidweek on Tuesday.

“When we left Dynegy, and as the winding down of energy merchants started, we had a lot of customers talk with us and tell us that they’d love to have more customer choice and liquidity in the physical sales,” said Jones. “Cliff and I thought it would be a great opportunity to really help the customers.”

For more information about Eagle Energy, contact Jones at (281) 781-0333.

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