Commercial

While Pennsylvania’s gas deregulation bill for residential andsmall commercial customers has grabbed most of the focus from thestate’s gas industry, the fate of Philadelphia’s embattledmunicipal gas utility, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), will also bedecided during the current legislative session. A movement hasarisen in both the state Senate and the House of Representatives toattach an amendment onto the deregulation bill which will shift PGWcontrol from the city government-selected Gas Commission to thePennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC).

Pennsylvania’s state Senate convincingly voiced its support forSB601, a gas deregulation bill for residential and small commercialcustomers, with a 47-3 vote of approval late Monday night. The billis now in the hands of Pennsylvania’s House of RepresentativesConsumer Affairs committee. If the bill is signed into law, each ofthe Pennsylvania natural gas utilities would be required to submita restructuring plan to the PUC by Nov. 1.

The Pennsylvania Senate is expected to pass Senate bill 601, the gas deregulation bill for small commercial and residential customers, on June 7, said a spokesman for Sen. Jeff Piccola, the bill’s main sponsor.

The Pennsylvania state senate will pass senate bill 601, (SB601), the gas deregulation bill for small commercial andresidential customers, on June 7, said a spokesman for Sen. JeffPiccola’s office. Piccola is the bill’s main sponsor in the statesenate.

Companion Pennsylvania gas deregulation bills for smallcommercial and residential customers appear to be quicklymaneuvering through the state legislative process. The Senateversion is expected to go for a floor vote this week. Meanwhile,the House held hearings on its version of the bill recently andsupporters said the results were positive.

Companion Pennsylvania gas deregulation bills for smallcommercial and residential customers appear to be quicklymaneuvering through the state legislative process. The Senateversion is expected to go for a floor vote next week. Meanwhile,the House held hearings on its version of the bill recently andsupporters said the results were positive.

The usual suspects are at it again, as Pennsylvania Rep. FrankTulli (R-106) and Sen. Frank Piccola (R-15) are re-introducing agas deregulation bill for small commercial and residentialcustomers. Tulli said the bill will be proposed to the legislatureearly this week. The representative hopes to have the legislationpassed through both houses by June 30.

Miller Petroleum Inc. announced Monday that it finished thetransportation system for what it calls the first commercialcoalbed methane project in Kentucky. The Huntsville,Tennessee-based company completed and started service on a 4.5mile, six-inch pipeline extension that draws 200-220 Mcf/d fromfour coalbed methane wells located in southeastern Kentucky. Thegas, which the company said rates 980 Btu/Mcf, will be injectedinto the Columbia pipeline system and sold by a third party. Fortymore wells are scheduled to be drilled on this site in 1999. Thecompany estimates the finding cost for the project to average$.35/Mcf.

QuickTrade released the first commercial Internet-basedelectronic power trading system this week. Streamline, its biggestcompetitor, is expected to follow suit over the next few months.The QuickTrade system is equipped to handle forward trades at 13hub locations across the U.S. and one in Canada, and so far hasattracted the interest of about 35 traders, 20 of which have signedup to begin utilizing the system.