Action

Acknowledging that a combination of unexpected generator outagesand sustained hot weather could create the threat of power outagesthis summer, the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO)launched a new alert system for gaining enough voluntaryconservation by businesses and mass consumers to ride out thepeak-demand periods. Calling it “Power Watch 2000,” Cal-ISOPresident/CEO Terry Winter said he anticipates that both short- andlong-term the state can use market-based programs to addresspotential shortfalls.

Fueled by positive expiration-day price action last Friday andprodded by continued anticipation of higher prices this summer,natural gas futures shuffled higher yesterday as bulls gave a warmbuying welcome to the new spot contract April. With that boost theApril contract closed up 6.9 cents at $2.686 while the summer stripwas up 5.3 cents at $2.721.

Canadians are being told — by American investors on the prowlfor pieces of the action — that the North American natural gasmarket is headed for a spell of very tight supplies and they standto be prime beneficiaries. The projection emerged as a consensus ata Calgary conference billed as the mightiest assembly of financialmuscle ever held in the Canadian gas capital.

Once again all of the “hot” price action Friday occurred in theNortheast, and that’s because it was downright bone-chilling there.This time it was the turn of Algonquin citygates to occupy the toprung of the pricing ladder as they ran up more than $1.00 into the$4.80s and peaked at $6.50. A large aggregator said she later heardintra-day citygates trading as high as $8. She and another sourcesaid Algonquin was curtailing all IT and 50% of Secondary Firmservice downstream of the Cromwell (CT) Compressor Station Fridayand cutting Secondary Firm to zero past Cromwell for Saturday. Thataffected all deliveries to Boston, Rhode Island and the easternhalf of Connecticut, one said.

A coalition of pipeline customers has asked the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to take steps to reform the existingratemaking process, which it contends indulges interstate gaspipelines at the expense of their customers.

Tennessee said operating conditions had improved enough Monday toallow it to lift an OFO Action Alert implemented Saturday (see DailyGPI, Nov. 12). Weekend OFOs by PacificGas & Electric, Southern California Gas and Northern Natural Gasalso were no longer in effect Monday.

FERC has ordered a sweeping review of the allocation, schedulingand pooling procedures on El Paso Natural Gas. The Commission tookthis action in response to a producer-marketer complaint assailingthe pipeline for its atypical method of allocating capacity atdelivery points at the California Border. Last week, FERC not onlyfound that these practices “may be unjust and unreasonable,” but itexpanded the scope of the proceeding to include the pipeline’sallocation methods at receipt points and its scheduling and poolingprocedures.

Columbia Natural Resources Canada (CNRC) has joined with twosmall Canadian producers to prove that all the natural gas actionin eastern Canada is not offshore.

Most cash points rose 1 to 5 cents yesterday on the strength ofa futures rally fired by a bullish American Gas Association storagereport. Traders were in agreement that prices were flat toWednesday until the futures screen picked up in the late morning.