Egan Hub Partners, a subsidiary of NiSource, filed a request atFERC recently to expand the operating capacity of its existingstorage facility in Acadia Parish, LA from 15.5 Bcf to 21 Bcf. Thecompany wants a FERC decision by Sept. 1 so that some or all of theexpansion can be online during the 2000-2001 heating season. Egansaid the expansion is necessary because of the large number ofrequests from customers for additional storage service. It expectsthat the expanded capacity will be fully subscribed and says it canprovide the identity of customers with which it is discussingincremental service, if the Commission requests such information.The company’s two existing salt dome caverns will be enlarged from7.75 Bcf to 10.5 Bcf and compression will be added, boostingdeliverability from 750 MMcf/d to 800 MMcf/d.

PG&E Corp. of San Francisco, which operates one of thecountry’s largest wholesale energy trading businesses, plans toinvest in a web browser-based wholesale trading platform thisspring. PG&E will make an equity investment in True Quote LLC,which developed the browser-based platform in collaboration withEnFORM Technology and Microsoft Corp. The platform is the latestversion of a technology introduced last year as the firstreal-time, broker-assisted, Internet-based quote system for thegas and electricity wholesale marketplace. The online tradingsystem provides customers with real-time energy prices on theirdesktops and allows them to trade online.

ChooseEnergy.com of Newton, MA, a Web-based energy marketplace,completed its first round of venture capital financing, totaling$15 million. The funding was arranged by Gleacher & Co., a NewYork-based investment banking firm, investing primarily in theInternet, telecommunications, technology, and healthcare sectors.The co-lead investors were Ballentine Capital Partners Inc. (BCP),a venture capital firm investing in the deregulating market; andSandler Capital Management, an investment management firmspecializing in the communications industries. Integrated EnergyServices (IES), an independent mechanical contractor/HVAC serviceprovider in the southeastern United States, also participated inthe first round of financing. ChooseEnergy.com will provide buyersand sellers of all four energy types — electricity, natural gas,propane and fuel oil — with a transactional solution online.

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