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Natural gas and distributed electric power should be closeallies over the next 30 to 40 years as the world transitions toless dependence on a fossil fuel-based energy economy, according toproponents of different microturbines who outlined the”opportunities and challenges” of decentralized electricitygeneration May 11 at GasMart/Power ’99.

By the close of trading last Friday, Columbia Energy Group’s$6.7 billion unsolicited bid for Consolidated Natural Gas still hadthe edge on Dominion Resources’ all stock offer worth $5.9 billion,but Dominion’s stock price was gaining ground.

CMS Energy, announcing completion of the $2.2 billion deal tobuy Duke Energy’s Panhandle Eastern and Trunkline pipeline and LNGassets, also has acquired a president and COO for the new CMSPanhandle Pipeline companies. Christopher A. Helms had been Duke’sgeneral manager of business development and managing director ofits PanEnergy Services Europe subsidiary.

CalEnergy Co. Inc. and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. formallyclosed their merger Friday, marking the first time that anindependent power producer has acquired a traditional gas andelectric utility. The Iowa Utilities Board’s (IUB) recent approvalof the deal cleared the way for it to be completed.

Summer power price spikes may have hardly triggered a blip onthe gas spot market last year, but that may not be the case in thenear future. With the expected tremendous growth in gas-fired powergeneration, gas prices are on track to be more closely linked withthe price of electricity than the price of oil, according toCoastal Corp. CEO David A. Arledge.

The week’s trading wound to a close Friday with generally lesssoftness than had been expected. In relatively quiet activity, mostpoints were down a few cents with only occasional lapses of morethan a dime. A Midcontinent source who said Thursday he wouldn’t besurprised to see mid $1.30s pricing for the weekend, found insteadmost regional numbers averaging in the $1.50s Friday.

A constructive price move near the close of trading Tuesday anda well-bid over-the-counter market Wednesday morning had bullschamping at the bit early yesterday. But by afternoon, forecastscalling for a moderation of the cold weather gripping much of themiddle of the country had begun to filter through the futuresmarket which left prices to trickle lower. Both the December andJanuary contract slipped 4.6 cents, settling at $2.432 and $2.557respectively.

A lot of cash points came close to matching the screen’s rise ofalmost a nickel Wednesday, give or take a penny or two. In additionto the futures influence, there was “a little bit” of cold here andthere to help generate a modest price rally, though still notenough cold to help much, sources said.

A proposed settlement that calls for the restructuring of thetransportation and sales arrangements of Pacific InterstateTransmission (PITCO) is close at hand and could be filed at FERC assoon as today, says an official involved in the negotiations.