Atlantic

Strong heating demand for most of this winter in the Midwest, Plains, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic will increase regional power loads and natural gas demand, pushing prices for those commodities higher, according to WSI Corp.’s latest seasonal forecast.

Representatives from natural gas pipeline companies, gas associations and Mid Atlantic power grid operator PJM Interconnection met recently to begin discussions about the impact of adding more natural gas-fired power plants in PJM’s territory. But news of the talks came just as analysts at Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI) issued a report questioning whether the bulk of generation development underway in PJM will ever come to fruition.

As the fight over a demand for Canadians-first restrictions against exports of natural gas produced offshore Nova Scotia went to the final stage of oral hearings, a report in Washington highlighted the value of an open border to the industry. Canadian exporters cornered a record 87% of the gas market in New England during 2001, said a review of the trade by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

As the fight over a demand for Canadians-first restrictions against exports of natural gas produced offshore Nova Scotia went to the final stage of oral hearings, a report in Washington highlighted the value of an open border to the industry. Canadian exporters cornered a record 87% of the gas market in New England during 2001, said a review of the trade by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

As the fight over a demand for Canadians-first restrictions against exports of natural gas produced offshore Nova Scotia went to the final stage of oral hearings, a report in Washington highlighted the value of an open border to the industry. Canadian exporters cornered a record 87% of the gas market in New England during 2001, said a review of the trade by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

There is “great upside” for finding new natural gas supplies offshore of Canada’s East Coast — and at a reasonable cost, the National Energy Board has been assured. An assessment commissioned by Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline found that even the early, high-risk phase of operating offshore of Nova Scotia has shown that the cost of tapping the region is well under current gas prices.

Moving in on an already crowded Mid-Atlantic field, Williams’ Transco Pipeline announced it is soliciting interest for a capacity expansion in its Zone 5, to run from Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, VA to Hertford County, NC.

Pittsburgh, PA-based Consol Energy Inc., the second largest U.S. coal producer based on revenues, has entered into a deal to buy coalbed methane (CBM) gas production and pipeline gathering assets from Conoco Inc. to serve the expanding gas needs of power generators in the Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia areas.

The Mid-Atlantic Power Supply Association (MAPSA) has filed a petition before the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court requesting a review of an order issued by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) that MAPSA claims will bail out GPU utilities at the expense of electric customers and competitors.