Northwest notified shippers of a Declared Stage I OverrunEntitlement Period (Overrun Entitlement) that began Thursday andwill continue through the Oct. 2 gas day or until further notice.The entitlement applies to delivery points north of Kemmerer (WY)Station and subjects a Receiving Party to penalties for overtakesmore than 3% greater than its confirmed nominations. Northwestnoted it has experienced continuous drafting throughout September,resulting in low Jackson Prairie storage levels and low systemlinepack. Additionally, the large unit at Soda Springs Stationimmediately north of Kemmerer went off-line Wednesday due tomechanical problems, reducing station capacity from 470,000 Dth/dto about 430,000 Dth/d. Repairs are expected to take three to fivedays. To avoid cutting primary gas at Soda Springs, Northwest mustrely on Jackson Prairie withdrawals, necessitating the entitlement.
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CA Joint Legislative Audit of ISO/PX Begins
California’s State Auditor General formally began contacting the state’s nonprofit electric grid operator (Cal-ISO) and wholesale spot power market (Cal-PX) Wednesday in a state legislature-ordered investigation that could lead to the merger of the two entities. The state’s electricity price spikes and supply shortfall this summer prompted legislative action in August ordering the probe.
CA Joint Legislative Audit of ISO/PX Begins
California’s State Auditor General formally began contacting thestate’s nonprofit electric grid operator (Cal-ISO) and wholesalespot power market (Cal-PX) Wednesday in a state legislature-orderedinvestigation that could lead to the merger of the two entities.The state’s electricity price spikes and supply shortfall thissummer prompted legislative action in August ordering the probe.
CA Regulators Begin Tackling Power Problems
Taking its cue from the governor and state legislature, California regulators Thursday began implementing rate relief for San Diego electricity consumers, retroactive to June 1. It became effective immediately. An investigation of San Diego Gas and Electric Co.’s actions leading up to this summer’s price spikes was also approved as part of the action.
DukeSolutions Begins Online Auctions to Cut Costs
To help its clients reduce the costs of doing business,DukeSolutions Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, NC, began usingonline energy auctions last week to lower the cost of natural gas,reduce procurement charges and speed up contract executions for its20 client facilities in the Midwest.
Transportation Notes
Citing forecasts of cooler temperatures in the Pacific Northwestfor the holiday weekend, Northwest began allowing both on-systemand off-system balancing Thursday after a long period of barringon-system balancing. However, storage volumes remain high in theJackson Prairie and Clay Basin facilities, limiting operationalflexibility, Northwest said.
August Begins Mostly Flat to Indexes, Down From July
The August aftermarket began Monday with prices down a dime ormore from the last day of July in most cases, except for slightgains at a few western points. In comparison to where they expectedAugust indexes to be, several sources said swing gas for today wasflat in general but slightly lower at some eastern points.
Transportation Notes
Transwestern began allocating Tuesday at its SoCal Needlesdelivery point into California due to nominations exceedingcapacity. About 103,000 MMBtu/d of West of Thoreau capacity wasaffected, the pipeline said.
August Futures Take Up Where July Left Off
Taking a cue from the July contract, which tumbled in anexpiration-day sell-off, August began its tenure as prompt month byslipping lower yesterday morning as traders continued to look pasta bullish storage situation to focus on bearish short-term demandoutlooks. But just like other moves lower in recent weeks,yesterday’s retracement was short-lived and by 11:15 a.m. (EDT)buyers had promoted the near-month back into positive territory onthe day.
Industry Briefs
Calpine Corp.’s 500 MW Hidalgo Energy Center began commercialoperation June 14, the company said yesterday. In March, thecompany purchased a 78.5% stake in the plant, which is located inEdinburg, TX. The Brownsville Public Utilities Board holds theremaining 21.5%. Calpine operates the energy center and providesfuel management services. The center is located within one mile ofCalpine’s Magic Valley Generating Station, a 730 MW gas-firedfacility currently under construction. The Magic Valley facility isexpected to be on line in the summer of 2001. The Hidalgo plantwill sell power into the Texas wholesale market and potentiallyinto the growing energy markets of northern Mexico.