Broke

Georgia broke all records in unbundling 95% or 900,000 customersfrom Atlanta Gas Light’s merchant service in just nine months. Nowit’s up to the policy-makers “to justify the amounts of savings,determining if consumers are really better off,” AGL PresidentPaula Rosput told state regulators Tuesday.

The cash market finally broke free from the doldrums that hadbecalmed much of it earlier this week and found a direction inwhich to move Thursday-mostly down a few cents in the East. Sourcescited the decline in the Henry Hub futures contract for July as themain reason for eastern cash drops that ranged up to a nickel orso. However, continued warm to hot weather kept air conditionershumming in the West, and the resultant power generation load forgas rendered most of the region’s trading points resistant to thegeneral softness. Western quotes tended to be flat to up a penny.

Are fuel cells catching on? Plug Power, a pioneer in the fuelcell industry incorporated in 1997 with 25 employees, now has 250.The company broke ground this week for a 50,000 square feetmanufacturing facility that will double its current space.

A very divided FERC last week broke with a decade-old procedureby leapfrogging the preliminary determination (PD) step in fourcontroversial pipeline projects intended to carry Canadian gas fromthe U.S. Midwest to the Northeast gas market. Instead, it deferredaction on the fate of the projects until all of the environmentalreviews are completed – “hopefully” by early next fall. Projectsponsors had mixed reactions: they were disappointed by the breakwith PD procedure, but they also were encouraged by FERC’sassurance of a final vote by fall. And all said – at least publicly- they still planned to move forward with their separate projects,but sources said privately sponsors were re-evaluating whether itwas “worthwhile to go ahead.”

A very divided FERC yesterday broke with a decade-old procedureby leapfrogging the preliminary determination (PD) step in fourcontroversial pipeline projects intended to serve the Northeast gasmarket. Instead, it deferred action on the fate of the projectsuntil all the environmental reviews are completed – “hopefully” byearly next fall.

Futures traders spent most of Monday in a “wait’n-see position”poised to react quickly if the market broke in either direction.However, no fresh news could be gleaned from yesterday’s market andas a result the market took what has become the path of leastresistance lately to move lower in quiet trade. The Septembercontract slipped 2.1 cents to $1.926.

Peace broke out in the Canadian natural gas community. A newpact on competition in the industry virtually assures constructionof the Alliance Pipeline Project, approval of the merger betweenTransCanada PipeLines and Nova Corp., and a settlement on a newtolling regime on Nova’s Alberta gathering grid.

The April Nymex contract finally broke out of its recent tradingrange by falling a relatively large 8.7 cents to $2.141 onThursday. “Today was massive long liquidation by funds, coupledwith weaker cash prices,” a broker told NGI. “The market droppedbelow the magic 40-day moving average (at $2.205), and fell belowtrendline support at $2.19. Both those things triggered a series ofstop loss orders, which helped propel April even lower. April lookspretty negative on the charts. There was a lot of technical damagetoday. The market will most likely want to continue to test thedown side,” he said.