Allows

It took 10 years, but a recent order by the Virginia Corporation Commission (VCC) finally allows American Electric Power to move forward with the construction of a 765,000-volt transmission line. The state commission determined that immediate action was needed in order to reinforce the transmission system in southwestern Virginia.

Skipping Stone Inc., based in Houston, has introduced e-Complete,an e-commerce development service for the energy industry that allowscompanies to establish a strategy, design an e-commerce system basedupon the strategy and launch a Web site. CEO Peter Wiegand saide-Complete is available only from Skipping Stone, which is anindependent energy consulting firm. See the Web site atwww.skippingstone.com for more information.

Market-power abuse in the electric industry often goes “unnoticed” by FERC because enforcement of the rules under Order 888, which are “frequently opaque,” is mostly left up to the transmission owners themselves, according to consulting firm Tabors Caramanis & Associates in Cambridge, MA.

Market-power abuse in the electric industry often goes”unnoticed” by FERC because enforcement of the rules under Order888, which are “frequently opaque,” is mostly left up to thetransmission owners themselves, according to consulting firm TaborsCaramanis & Associates in Cambridge, MA.

Pittsburgh-based OnlineChoice announced yesterday that it haslaunched www.GasChoice.com, a free website that allows consumersnationwide to join no-obligation natural gas buying pools.GasChoice.com is forming buying pools right now in every state sothat once deregulation hits that locale, the pools of residentialand commercial consumers with group buying power are ready to bidand ready to save, the company said. In addition, the company isaggressively developing buying pool websites for telephone service,Internet access, and home security systems, all of which arefollowing closely on the heels of GasChoice.

Midcoast Interstate Transmission and two groups oflandowners/environmentalists have lost their year-long battle incourt to overturn FERC orders awarding a certificate to SouthernNatural Gas to build and operate an extension into northernAlabama.

Gas from NW Natural’s underground storage facility began flowinginto the company’s new Mist III Pipeline in Mist, OR. The24-inch-diameter pipe allows the company to provide more gas to thegrowing Washington County area. The $35 million pipeline runsparallel to a 16-inch line built in the late 1980s to connect theMist gas storage field to the company’s distribution system.

Gas from NW Natural’s underground storage facility began flowinginto the company’s new Mist III Pipeline in Mist, OR. The24-inch-diameter pipe allows the company to provide more gas to thegrowing Washington County area. The $35 million pipeline runsparallel a 16-inch line built in the late 1980s to connect the Mistgas storage field to the company’s distribution system.

The furious upward rush of swing cash prices finally ran out ofsteam Tuesday, leaving most of the market in a consolidation andstabilization mode. Except for a nickel rise in Transco’s Zone6-NYC pool and milder increases on several Midcontinent pipes, flatnumbers were the order of the day at nearly all eastern points.Although the Midwest and Northeast market areas had cooled off abit since Monday, forecasts for a heat wave to re-intensify laterthis week kept prices from retreating, a marketer said.