Despite notching new annual volume records for the fifthconsecutive year since NGI started ranking gas marketers, the paceof volume growth in the gas and power marketing businesses hasshown some signs of decline.

While gas marketing volumes for the top 20 North American gasmarketers in a ranking by NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index grew by 10.5%last year to 134.8 Bcf/d, power marketing volumes for the top 20power marketers soared an astounding 32.6% (654 million MWh) to2,658.7 MM MWh. But that’s significantly less than the 935.8 MM MWhincrease reported in 1998 by the top 20. While power marketingstill has plenty of room to mature, it may be losing some of itssteam. After all, sales volumes have jumped 194% just in the pasttwo years.

Gas volume growth hit a high point in 1997 when the top 20posted a 22.4 Bcf/d increase to 90 Bcf/d. The pace of growth slowedin 1998 to 17.1 Bcf/d and ended 1999 up only 12.8 Bcf/d to 134.8Bcf/d. Total volumes of the top 20 have grown 111% over the lastfive years from a piddling 63.9 Bcf/d in 1995 to a whopping 134.8Bcf/d last year.

Duke Energy showed the largest volume growth last year, 2.6Bcf/d to 8.8 Bcf/d, which moved the company to second place in therankings from fourth place in 1998. Enron, Reliant, ExxonMobil,Coral and Sempra were the other big gainers. In contrast, Engagescaled back its operations by 1 Bcf/d to 5.6 Bcf/d. PG&E hadthe other large number in the minus column with a decline of 940MMcf/d to 8.4 Bcf/d, which dropped it to sixth in the rankings fromthird. PG&E made up for the decline on the gas side, however,with a sharp increase in power volumes.

Nearly all of the top power marketers showed volume growth, withPG&E topping the list with an increase of 141.7 MM MWh to 224.7MM MWh. With that level of growth, PG&E jumped to fourth in therankings from tenth. Dynegy posted the largest volume decrease onthe power side at minus 51.8 MM MWh for a total of 79.3 millionMWh. Cinergy, Enron and Peco Energy were the others reportingvolume declines. LG&E, Sempra Energy and Statoil dropped out ofthe top 20 on the power side, while Tractebel, Constellation andKoch jumped in.

One company likely to be making huge gains this year is PecoEnergy, which is in the process of merging with Commonwealth Edisonto create the largest nuclear generation company on the continent.The merger is expected to be completed in August, but Pecospokesman David Greer said that won’t be too late to have a majorimpact on wholesale volumes. Greer said to expect Peco-ComEd to bein the top three in power sales by the end of 2000.

1999 Gas Marketer Table
1999 Power Marketer Table

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