Come

Energy legislation will come to a head in the Senate this week, as Republicans are expected to try to attach the House comprehensive energy bill (H.R. 4) to the economic-stimulus package that is scheduled for debate on the floor, according to Capitol Hill observers.

Oregon’s largest natural gas utility and electric power utility have come together with the announcement Monday that Northwest Natural Gas will buy Portland General Electric (PGE) for $1.875 billion. Under terms of the transaction, expected to close by the fourth quarter of 2002, Natural will pay $1.55 billion in cash, give up $200 billion in preferred stock, $50 million in Natural common stock, and assume Enron’s $75 million balance in customer benefits obligations, stipulated in its 1996 PGE purchase. Natural also will assume almost $1.1 billion in PGE debt and preferred stock.

Chairman-designate Pat Wood III is looking for a few good energy executives to interpret for him and his FERC colleagues the reams of data that come into the Commission on the natural gas and electricity markets, so they’ll be better equipped to detect when something “smelly” is taking place.

To ensure that people don’t get left in the cold come this winter, the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) today issued a warning to Georgians who have had their natural gas shut off for non-payment or for those who have been notified of termination, to settle past due bills with their natural gas marketer now in order to restore service before winter.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has come under attack from the energy sector for stating last week that the United States is “well on our way toward a dangerous dependency” on natural gas.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham has come under attack from the energy sector for stating this week that the United States is “well on our way toward a dangerous dependency” on natural gas.

As state legislators frantically try to come up with a legislative alternative to the governor’s deal with Southern California Edison Co., the consumer watchdog part of the California Public Utilities Commission last week blasted a more recent agreement, or memorandum of understanding (MOU), crafted with Sempra Energy’s San Diego Gas and Electric Co.

In what appears to be a perfect match, Sempra Energy’s communications unit has come up with a process to marry natural gas with fiber optics. If successful and approved by the various public utility commissions around the country, Sempra could solve one of the telecommunications industry’s biggest problems — transport — by using the nation’s gas pipelines to carry fiber optic cable from outlying networks into buildings.

El Paso Corp. reported that it expects its second quarter earnings to come in between $0.77 and $0.79 per diluted share, net of non-recurring merger and other charges. The company’s estimate compares to the current First Call consensus earnings of $0.76 per share and second quarter 2000 earnings of $0.58 per diluted share.