Competitive

Constellation Energy Group announced plans to buy most of Nicor Energy LLC’s remaining competitive energy supply contracts covering about 8,000 commercial and industrial gas and electric customers in three midwestern states. Constellation said its affiliates will serve electricity to customers in Michigan and Illinois, and natural gas to customers in Michigan and Indiana. Closing of the deal is expected by April 1. Terms were not disclosed.

PacifiCorp Power Marketing Inc., ScottishPower’s competitive U.S. energy business, said last week that it will officially change its name to PPM Energy Inc. on Jan. 15. The news comes one day after the Portland, OR-based company completed the acquisition of Aquila Inc.’s Katy gas storage facility, two development opportunities and two other storage facilities.

PacifiCorp Power Marketing Inc., ScottishPower’s competitive U.S. energy business, said Thursday that it will officially change its name to PPM Energy Inc. on Jan. 15. The news comes one day after the Portland, OR-based company completed the acquisition of Aquila Inc.’s Katy gas storage facility, two development opportunities and two other storage facilities.

A recommendation in July by an administrative law judge (ALJ) for the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) that the state delay implementing a competitive wholesale market got the endorsement of the ACC chairman in a hearing on the state’s restructuring plan Tuesday.

NiSource is making some of the last remaining organizational changes since it bought Columbia Energy Group two years ago, announcing actions last week to reduce the size of its management structure. Under the plan, the streamlining will move executive management closer to customers and promote efficiency while lowering costs in response.

Taking advantage of another opportunity to build its gas storage portfolio, PacifiCorp Power Marketing, Inc. (PPM), the competitive U.S. energy business of United Kingdom-based ScottishPower, said late last week that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Aquila Corp.’s Katy gas storage complex in Texas and four other gas storage development projects for $180 million.

Taking advantage of another opportunity to build its gas storage portfolio, PacifiCorp Power Marketing, Inc. (PPM), the competitive U.S. energy business of United Kingdom-based ScottishPower, said Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Aquila Corp.’s Katy gas storage complex in Texas and four other gas storage development projects for $180 million.

Guardian Pipeline has hired H.C. Price Co. to build its 142-mile, 750 MMcf/d pipeline system in Illinois and Wisconsin. H.C. Price, of Dallas, was selected in a competitive bidding process and will construct the pipeline in one spread, in which work will be done by a single construction crew over the entire length of the project. Murphy Bros. Inc., of Moline, IL, was selected to build Guardian’s 22,225-hp compressor station near Joliet. “This signing of the project’s main construction contractors keeps Guardian on track to meet its scheduled in-service date this November,” said George Hass, Guardian project manager. Land acquisition work is continuing in both Wisconsin and Illinois. Construction is expected to begin on the compressor station in March and on the pipeline June 1, with completion and operation of the pipeline expected by November. Guardian will transport gas from interconnections with Alliance, Northern Border, Midwestern Gas Transmission and Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America at the Chicago hub near Joliet to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved a lateral pipeline connecting Guardian with the Wisconsin Gas system. Currently Guardian Pipeline has firm precedent agreements with Wisconsin Gas and others to transport 662 MMcf/d (88% of design capacity) when the pipeline goes into service in November. Guardian is a partnership of CMS Energy, Wisconsin Gas parent company WICOR, and Viking Gas Transmission, a wholly owned subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc.

Petro-Canada has won the latest round in a continuing drive by Canadian natural-gas producers to foster a competitive market in pipeline services. The National Energy Board (NEB) granted Petro-Canada approval to lay a bypass, called the Medicine Hat Pipeline, past southeastern Alberta facilities of TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.’s Nova Gas Transmission. The project also detours around earlier bypass lines built in the prolific production region by Alberta Energy Co (AEC).