Boosting

The sudden 20-cent jump in gas futures prices yesterdayinitially left most of the cash market behind with cold weathercurrently confined mostly to the Rockies and upper Midwest.However, late in the day cash prices gained enough ground to boostdaily averages up about a dime.

Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Co. is in the midst ofboosting firm transportation capacity on its system in anticipationof supplying cheaper Powder River Basin gas to shippers on NorthernBorder Pipeline, who it believes will be deprived of economicalCanadian gas supplies when Alliance Pipeline goes into servicelater this year.

With a weaker screen during the morning and not a lot of solidweather load emerging from the weekend, most of the East was flatto down a few cents Monday. Western points continued a now-familiarpattern bracketing weekends: having suffered the biggest drops onFriday, they saw the biggest rebounds on Monday.

Gas-rich Texas is moving to include preferences for the fuel andfor distributed generation in electric industry restructuring.

Texas gas-fired generation and distributed generation stand togain from recent actions by the state’s Public Utility Commission.Commission staff has proposed a natural gas energy credits (NGEC)trading program with the goal of ensuring that at least 50% of allnew generating capacity, except that powered by renewabletechnologies, be gas-fired after Jan. 1. The proposal does notinclude modifications to generation facilities that merely increaseefficiency of currently installed equipment.

With prices looking up, Energy Search Inc. of Knoxville, TN,sought and will get a boost to help develop some of its oil and gasproperties. The company made a deal to accelerate development withSouthern Producer Services, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based SouthernEnergy Inc.

With prices looking up, Energy Search Inc. of Knoxville, TN,sought and will get a boost to help develop some of its oil and gasproperties. The company made a deal to accelerate development withSouthern Producer Services, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based SouthernEnergy Inc.

Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG) is taking advantage of depressedprices in the E&ampP sector and spending more of its money where itsees the most long-term bang for the buck. Having pulled out of themarketing business, CNG’s $524.5 million capital budget for 1999continues the company’s focus on expanding its exploration andproduction business. More than 60% of the 1999 budget is allocatedto CNG’s E&ampP subsidiary, CNG Producing Co.

Florida Power Corp. has joined in the flurry of new energyprojects spurred by this summer’s record-setting heat wave, filingplans with the Florida Public Service Commission to accelerate thebuilding of a second generation unit at its Hines Energy Complex inPolk County. The unit will provide additional capability to meetgrowing demand for electricity well into the next century. Thecompany has offered to absorb construction costs for the plant inits current customer rates.