Burgeoning

Although energy e-commerce is a burgeoning industry, there areonly a few electronic exchanges so far that can be used for servingaggregated retail energy customer loads, and even those that are upand running still may need to be customized, according to AvistaAdvantage, an Avista Corp. subsidiary.

Attempting to better accommodate the burgeoning Gulf Coast powerdemand, Entergy Corp. spent $1.9 billion to purchase 24 GE 7FAadvanced technology gas turbines and four steam turbines from GE,Entergy said yesterday. Delivery is scheduled through 2004. Theagreement includes turnkey installation of the 1,000 MW Freestonepower plant project and long-term service agreements (LTSAs) thatcover all scheduled maintenance for a period of 16 years followingthe start- up of each turbine.

Florida has become a hot bed of new gas pipeline development andexpansions designed to serve burgeoning power generation demand.Even before the ink is dry on its last expansion application,Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) is gearing up for another $250million expansion filing with FERC later this year.

Burgeoning gas demand in the southeastern United States andChicago’s supply hub status have spawned another pipeline project.The latest comes from Columbia Gulf Transmission, AGL Resources,and MCN Energy Group. The trio last week began a six-week openseason offering up to 250,000 Dth/d of capacity on the proposedVolunteer Pipeline.

Burgeoning gas demand in the southeastern United States hasspawned another pipeline project. The latest comes from ColumbiaGulf Transmission, AGL Resources, and MCN Energy Group. The trioyesterday began a six-week open season offering up to 250,000 Dth/dof capacity on the proposed Volunteer Pipeline.

The Pacific Northwest, historically a great corridor forshipping western Canadian natural gas to California’s burgeoningmarkets, is getting increasing attention for expansion ordevelopment of natural gas storage to fuel its own growth, whichhas averaged 5% annually in the 1990s. The region’s only twounderground storage facilities are in the midst of expansions, andenergy players within and outside the region are searching for newstorage prospects-under-and above-ground.

Three weeks of severe weather in the Gulf of Mexico have leftproducers with their heads spinning and have sent Gulf productionon a roller coaster ride, but producers should find some solace inthe large number of pipeline companies scrambling to serve theirgrowing transportation needs with new projects. In total, the newpipeline expansions announced last week could add more than 1 Bcf/dof additional pipeline access to markets for deep-water supplies.

Add another pipeline project to the list of those that wouldmove gas eastward from the burgeoning Chicago market center.Crossroads Pipeline, in conjunction with CNG Transmission and EastOhio Gas, scheduled an open season for firm transportationbeginning Monday, March 2 and concluding April 20.