Businesses

In a move to attract investors, Southern Company plans to createa separate company for most of its non-utility businesses, sell19.9% of the company to the public through an initial publicoffering and spin the rest off to shareholders.

Houston-based Amerex Natural Gas Inc. and sister company AmerexPower Inc. together bought the gas and electricity brokeragebusinesses of Houston-based BTU Brokers Ltd. for an undisclosedprice. As a result, Amerex’s daily average of physical and papergas deals grew 12.4% to $287 million, and physical and paper powerdeals increased 5% to $175 million for a combined annual value of$121 billion in gas and power deals.

Houston-based Amerex Natural Gas Inc. and sister company AmerexPower Inc. together bought the gas and electricity brokeragebusinesses of Houston-based BTU Brokers Ltd. for an undisclosedprice. As a result, Amerex’s daily average of physical and papergas deals grew 12.4% to $287 million, and physical and paper powerdeals increased 5% to $175 million for a combined annual value of$121 billion in gas and power deals.

Exxon Mobil launched a new organization structure built on aconcept of eleven separate global businesses designed to allow thecompany to compete more effectively in a changing worldwide energyindustry. Lee Raymond, CEO, said by mid-December the company willannounce a revised forecast of merger benefits that will likelyexceed the $2.8 billion annual level announced last year.

The New Jersey Business & Industry Alliance (NJBIA), thelargest state-level employer association in the nation, isorganizing an energy purchasing pool to join the New Jersey choiceprogram. The group has selected NewEnergy and Power Direct,subsidiaries of independent power producer AES Corp. to create thepool Power New Jersey.

The number of U.S. consumers and small businesses “choosing tohave a choice” in their electric and gas service has doubled sinceJan. 1 to 3 million and is expected to reach 4 million by the endof the century, according to a report by Cambridge Energy ResearchAssociates (CERA).

Oneok Inc. plans to enter the electric generation and powermarketing businesses with an Oklahoma generating facility. Thecompany signed a contract with General Electric to buy four gasturbine generators with a capacity of 300 MW. A generation facilityencompassing the four units will be constructed and in service byJune 1, 2001.

In an effort to attract large businesses to their districts, twoOregon state legislators introduced a bill recently that wouldprovide $20 million in lottery funds to help build a 64-milepipeline. No engineering study for the pipeline has been conductedso far. The bill’s main supporters, state Sen. Veral Tarno(R-Coquille) and Rep. Ken Messerle (R-Coos County), said some ofthe funds also could be used to build a high-voltage power line.

MichCon crews were working yesterday to restore gas service todowntown Detroit businesses and residents after the pressure of awater main break caused a nearby gas line to rupture. The ruptureoccurred at the corner of St. Antoine and Mullet Street, behind theFrank Murphy Hall of Justice at about 11 p.m. Saturday, causingwater to flood MichCon’s gas line.