American

Customer choice in the United States is picking up steam, asevidenced in the American Gas Association’s (AGA) Energy Analysis2000 update released last month. The study follows natural gaspurchasing trends for the industrial, electric utility, commercialand residential sectors.

Customer choice in the United States is picking up steam, asevidenced in the American Gas Association’s (AGA) Energy Analysis2000 update released yesterday. The study follows natural gaspurchasing trends for the industrial, electric utility, commercialand residential sectors.

Drilling has picked up to a frenzied pace as active natural gasrig numbers continue to skyrocket in the United States and Canada.Rotary rigs drilling int he United States soared by 20 last week toa new record of 736 active gas drilling rigs, according to BakerHughes’ Rig Count report. Currently there are 235 more domesticrigs actively drilling than at the same time last year.

Hoping to foster a more robust wholesale power market, AmericanElectric Power (AEP), Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), DukeEnergy and Unicom Corp. are launching an independent,Internet-based electric transmission business-to-business exchangethis fall that is expected to offer a single portal for arrangingtransmission capacity. Still to come are the consortium’s serviceofferings and the type of technology it will use.

Hoping to foster a more robust wholesale power market, AmericanElectric Power (AEP), Carolina Power & Light (CP&L), DukeEnergy and Unicom Corp. are launching an independent,Internet-based electric transmission business-to-business exchangethis fall that is expected to offer a single portal for arrangingtransmission capacity. Still to come are the consortium’s serviceofferings and the type of technology it will use.

In a move that had an immediate bearish impact on the naturalgas market last week, the American Gas Association (AGA) decided tobegin publishing a five-year average of gas storage levels in itsweekly storage report. Since the five-year average is much closerto current levels than last year’s abnormally high working gaslevels, the new information gave the market a much different viewof industry fundamentals. The combination of the new average andlast week’s huge 97 Bcf injection knocked nearly a quarter offAugust futures prices on Wednesday.

The northern frontier on the eastern side of the continent isstepping up work on adding new supplies to the North Americannatural-gas market, along with promoters of a development andpipeline revival in Alaska and the Northwest Territories.

FERC Chairman James Hoecker extended an olive branch to theboard of trustees of the North American Electric ReliabilityCouncil (NERC) during a recent visit to Canada, urging the counciland the Commission to work more cooperatively toward a common goal— ensuring the reliability of the bulk electric market.

The northern frontier on the eastern side of the continent isstepping up work on adding new supplies to the North Americannatural-gas market, along with promoters of a development andpipeline revival in Alaska and the Northwest Territories.