Competition

Undaunted by gyrating prices or Alaskan competition, the next big steps in reviving natural-gas exploration in the Canadian Arctic have begun on schedule.

Kern River Gas Transmission appears to have pulled off a coup in the competition to serve new merchant electric generation loads in California’s frenetic race to build new in-state power plants in its plans to construct a 32-mile, 24-inch-diameter pipeline extension directly to the 750-MW High Desert Power Plant now under construction in the open spaces about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Despite a “go slow” approach toward electric competition in Florida that has already turned away Duke Energy, Enron Corp. appears to be making headway in the quest to enter the tightly guarded state, according to a recent SCIENTECH IssueAlert by Will McNamara. The community of Deerfield Beach, FL recently gave Enron approval to build a natural gas-fired power plant one mile north of a site it abandoned last week “amid fierce opposition.”

Despite a “go slow” approach toward electric competition in Florida that has already turned away Duke Energy, Enron Corp. appears to be making headway in the quest to enter the tightly guarded state, according to a recent Scientech IssueAlert by Will McNamara. The community of Deerfield Beach, FL recently gave Enron approval to build a natural gas-fired power plant one mile north of a site it abandoned earlier in the week “amid fierce opposition.”

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. began an open season on its new Northeast ConneXion Project Monday, which would expand both its storage and pipeline capacity for its northeast markets. The storage expansion of up to 5 Bcf could provide as much as 300,000 Dth/d of incremental deliverability and will serve as the base load for the pipeline expansion. The non-binding open season ends May 31.

Almost overwhelming obstacles are blocking competition and change in Mexico’s natural gas and electricity sectors and are going to take time and private investment to overcome, according to one of the country’s energy commissioners.

The exorbitant increase in installed capacity charges (ICAP) during the first quarter 2001 within the PJM market (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland) was not cost-based, will not assure the reliable supply of energy from power plants and threatens to destroy the competitive market, The New Power Company (TNPC) said last Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

The exorbitant increase in installed capacity charges (ICAP) during the first quarter 2001 within the PJM market (Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland) was not cost-based, will not assure the reliable supply of energy from power plants, and threatens to destroy the competitive market, The New Power Company (TNPC) said on Wednesday at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

Joining competition with Tennessee and Algonquin for growing markets on Long Island, Iroquois Gas Transmission System LP announced an open season yesterday for Zone 2 firm transportation capacity for delivery on its proposed Eastern Long Island Expansion.