Ahead

Southwest Gas Corp., Oneok Inc. and the Office of RatepayerAdvocates (ORA), the consumer advocacy arm of the California PublicUtilities Commission (CPUC), have submitted a joint recommendationto the CPUC that the proposed merger of Southwest and Oneok beapproved.

Following the lead established late Monday, natural gas futurescontinued higher yesterday day as short-term traders bought intothe rally. The August contract closed up 3.2 cents at $2.176,shortly after notching its $2.18 high trade for the day.

Tennessee said Monday rehab work on the Sun Lateral in westernLouisiana will be completed ahead of schedule and it will resumetaking nominations at all Sun meters for Wednesday’s gas day. Thepipeline had earlier projected that the project would extend untilJuly 9 (see Daily GPI, June 22).

Small scale power generation revenues are poised for growth,according to a new study by Business Communications Co. Revenueswere estimated at $4.2 billion in 1998 and are expected to grow atan average annual rate of 32.1% to pass $16 billion in 2003.

Koch Gateway Pipeline has asked FERC for the go-ahead to takeout of service the western portion of its Latex-Fort Worth Mainlineand associated laterals. The system, which extends from near WillsPoint, TX, to Fort Worth, consists of about 102 miles of pipelineand laterals ranging in diameter from 4 to 20 inches.

PG&E Gas Transmission-Northwest reported completing hydrotesting of its A-Line ahead of schedule. The project’s end restoredcapacity to best-efforts levels of 2,620 MMcf/d at Kingsgate and1,930 MMcf/d at Station 14 Friday.

The U.S. leg of the proposed Vector Pipeline has won finalenvironmental approval at FERC, moving it within one step ofbecoming certified as the first new pipeline capable of providingtakeaway transportation for the steady influx of western Canadiangas supplies entering the Chicago market. The Commission’s actioncomes in the wake of the National Energy Board’s final approval ofthe 15-mile Canadian portion of the project.

In separate announcements, Southern Company and PacifiCorptouted their readiness for the year 2000. Both said utilitysubsidiaries are testing systems by setting their clocks forward toreplicate conditions in a year 2000 environment. Generation,transmission and distribution systems are being tested by thecompanies.

In separate announcements, Southern Company and PacifiCorptouted their readiness for the year 2000. Both said utilitysubsidiaries are testing systems by setting their clocks forward toreplicate conditions in a year 2000 environment. Generation,transmission and distribution systems are being tested by thecompanies.