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As Sonny and Cher came close to singing, “The heat goes on.” Yet despite another day Wednesday of searing hot weather in key market areas with prospects for more of the same today, the overall market was moderately softer. A screen advance of about a nickel failed to lend support to cash prices.

As the Empire State scrambles to avoid the blackouts and price spikes seen in California, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) recently said it expects to be able to complete the lion’s share of its plan to install 11 gas turbine generators throughout various New York City boroughs by the end of this month.

Cash prices at most points outside California and the Rockies dropped a dime or so yesterday in response to light demand, mild temperatures and high storage levels during a relatively quiet trading session. But western points continued to lose ground in chunks, with SoCal-Topock falling into the mid-$5.00s, and Rockies prices fast approaching $2.

In a sequence that likely will be repeated often this summer, California’s independent transmission grid operator, Cal-ISO, Thursday erred on the side of getting out advance warning of possible rolling blackouts only to pull back the emergency measure within minutes of the targeted time for blackouts to begin. As of 4 p.m. (PDT), the blackouts had not become necessary in the second consecutive day of Stage One and Two alerts.

New price movement was close to non-existent in almost the entire cash market Wednesday. Only a PG&E citygate uptick, a border-SoCalGas decline and mild Rockies softening provided variation in what was otherwise near-uniform flatness.

The week’s market activity came to a quiet close Friday with prices at most eastern points and Permian/Waha hovering on either side of flat, but with a slight bias to the upside. Western markets were generally softer, with California once again way out in front, leading a downhill charge.

Tuesday trading was close to being a repeat of Monday’s in that the overall price gains were mostly on either side of a dime or greater. Flat to lower numbers at the California border-SoCalGas, PG&E citygate and the Pacific Northwest’s Sumas and Stanfield points were the primary exceptions to continued firmness.

Apache Corp. and its partner Shell Overseas Holdings Ltd. are expected to get the go ahead this week from the New Zealand High Court on whether to proceed with closing their acquisition of New Zealand-based Fletcher Challenge Energy. The partners won the overwhelming approval of Fletcher’s shareholders in a special meeting Tuesday, garnering 96% of the vote. In the deal, Houston-based Apache will acquire Fletcher’s Canadian and Argentina assets for about $630 million.

An antitrust suit against Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and itsacquired subsidiary Union Pacific Resources (UPR) came to a closewithout a verdict less than one week after it had begun. Anadarkosettled out of court with American Central Gas Technologies Co.’s,a spokeswoman for Anadarko said. Terms of the agreement were notdisclosed.