Around

The folks over at CMS Energy, Reliant Energy and Williams EnergyTrading apparently are the best around at smiling and saying “thankyou.” They came out on top of a new customer satisfaction rankingby Mastio & Co. that evaluates the largest gas marketingcompanies based on the results of 1,200 interviews with industrialcompanies, LDCs, power producers and other marketers.

The folks over at CMS Energy, Reliant Energy and Williams EnergyTrading apparently are the best around at smiling and saying “thankyou.” They came out on top of a new customer satisfaction rankingby Mastio & Co. that evaluates the largest gas marketingcompanies based on the results of 1,200 interviews with industrialcompanies, LDCs, power producers and other marketers.

Tuesday around 6:30 p.m. (MST), an accident of unknown origin atan Idaho compressor station on Williams’ Northwest Pipeline systemkilled one worker and injured two others. Service on the pipelinewas not interrupted, according to a Salt Lake City spokesman withWilliams.

In a move that is likely to send ripples through the market,particularly around Chicago, the 1.325 Bcf/d Alliance Pipelineextended its commercial in-service delay last week to Nov. 13 fromOct. 30. Pipeline officials said moisture and debris in the linecaused the delay.

In a move that is likely to send ripples through the market, particularly around Chicago, the 1.325 Bcf/d Alliance Pipeline extended its commercial in-service delay last week to Nov. 13 from Oct. 30. Pipeline officials said moisture and debris in the line caused the delay.

By today, a “cool” spell was expected to grip Texas, plungingtemperatures down to around 100. A nice respite from the 105-plustemperatures that stilled the state and sent electricity peak loadsto new records last week for the third time this year.

What a difference a day can make in trader psychology. The newsof extra El Paso capacity and lack of a PG&E OFO causedCalifornia prices to plummet around a dollar or more in both theswing and bidweek markets Wednesday, while other quotes for thelast day of August were flat to mildly softer in the East andsurprisingly stronger in the Rockies.

Kansas City, MO’s Utilicorp United Inc. is shopping around, andhas already begun to narrow its options on which “high quality,low-cost fleet of generators” to pair with its wholesale merchantmoneymaker Aquila Energy, management announced last week. Apartnership deal is expected to be unveiled within a few months.

Kansas City, MO’s Utilicorp United Inc. is shopping around, andhas already begun to narrow its options on which “high quality,low-cost fleet of generators” to pair with its wholesale merchantmoneymaker Aquila Energy, management announced yesterday. Apartnership deal is expected to be unveiled within a few months.