Assessed

Noting $100,000 in penalties it assessed to a multi-firm operator for fraudulent oil/natural gas investments in the state earlier in the week, the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) Thursday issued a warning to consumers to beware of scam artists trying to take advantage of volatile and sometimes skyrocketing prices for the two energy commodities. The state’s chief utility and business regulatory panel jointly circulated an “investor alert” from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).

Natural gas futures staged a rally overnight Sunday and into Monday’s regular session as traders assessed forecasts for more seasonal January weather and a short-term positive technical outlook. After reaching a high of $6.560 on Monday, February natural gas ended up closing at $6.378, up 19.4 cents from Friday’s close.

Pacific Gas & Electric declared a systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO for Saturday and said penalties of $1/Dth will be assessed to shippers who exceed a 5% tolerance for negative daily imbalances.

April natural gas was mostly quiet Wednesday as traders assessed the market’s next move. After making a mini-run higher in morning trade to hit a $6.880 high, the prompt-month contract receded from that point and bounced within a range from $6.690 to the mid-$6.80s for the remainder of the session, ultimately closing at $6.733, up 1.9 cents on the day.

Southern Natural Gas is implementing an OFO Type 6 Thursday for short imbalances on its contiguous system. Tiered penalties of $1-15/Dth will be assessed for negative imbalances that exceed a threshold of 2% or 200 dekatherms. Penalties will not apply to long imbalances.

In the wake of the 2005 federal Energy Policy Act becoming law Monday, the Oregon Department of Energy suspended its rulemaking process that would have assessed the potential economic impact of proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals in the state.

Pacific Gas & Electric declared a systemwide Stage 2 high-inventory OFO for Wednesday. Penalties of $1/Dth will be assessed against customers who exceed a 5% tolerance for positive daily imbalances.

Sonat implemented an OFO Type 3 for eight market-area groups Monday morning. Penalties of $15/Dth were being assessed on any shipper whose delivery point takes exceeded 102% of their daily entitlement. The pipeline also began limiting IT service for four other groups.

Fueled by a weakened appetite for natural gas in the industrial sector, forecasts of normal weather for winter, bulging storage stocks and a grim economic fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Natural Gas Supply Association projected last Tuesday that gas demand will be flat this winter compared to last year.