Following the deadly explosion at a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Connecticut Sunday, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has raised concerns about a Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) proposed pipeline expansion that he says would be built through New Jersey to primarily benefit New York.
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Senator Raises Concerns About Tetco Project Following Connecticut Blast
Following the deadly explosion at a natural gas-fired power plant under construction in Connecticut Sunday, Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) has raised concerns about a Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) proposed pipeline expansion that he says would be built through New Jersey to primarily benefit New York.
NGSA Gives CT Governor Primer on Natural Gas Market
A major producer group, in a letter last week to Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, said access restrictions on U.S. natural gas supply rather than intentional manipulation of gas prices were the primary reason for volatility in the market. It hoped the governor, armed with better information on the gas market, would withdraw her request for an immediate congressional investigation into possible manipulation of gas prices.
CT Gov.’s NatGas Complaint Ignores Nearly Full Storage
The Connecticut governor was operating with some bad data when she issued a press release Thursday accusing the natural gas industry of attempting to drive up prices by cutting off production needed to fill storage. Gov. M. Jodi Rell based her price manipulation accusation on the proposition that the natural gas storage for winter is lagging, when in fact it is nearly full, topping out above 3 Tcf in the last few weeks — a month and a half before the official start of the winter season.
CT Gov.’s NatGas Complaint Ignores Nearly Full Storage
The Connecticut governor was operating with some bad data when she issued a press release Thursday accusing the natural gas industry of attempting to drive up prices by cutting off production needed to fill storage. Gov. M. Jodi Rell based her price manipulation accusation on the proposition that the natural gas storage for winter is lagging, when in fact it is nearly full, topping out above 3 Tcf in the last few weeks — a month and a half before the official start of the winter season.
Citing Amaranth, CT Attorney General Calls for More Fund Oversight
With more questions than answers surrounding Greenwich, CT-based Amaranth Advisors LLC’s significant losses due to a slumping natural gas market, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal reiterated Tuesday his long-standing call for more oversight of hedge funds in general.
More Senate Democrats Push for Windfall Profits Tax
Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Chris Dodd of Connecticut have added their names to the expanding list of Democrats calling for Congress to impose a windfall profits tax on major oil companies.
FERC Orders NRG Unit to Continue Supplying Power to CL&P
FERC last week ordered bankrupt NRG Power Marketing Inc. to continue providing power to Connecticut Light and Power Inc. (CL&P) until the Commission decides whether NRG Power Marketing’s efforts to cancel a power contract with CL&P meet the Mobile-Sierra “public interest” standard.
Sempra Energy’s Trading Unit Adds Coffee to Its Commodities
San Diego-based Sempra Energy’s Connecticut-based trading unit reportedly has entered the global coffee commodity market at a time post-Enron when energy traders are being subjected to increased scrutiny. Sempra would not deny or confirm that they are doing some coffee trading, but through a corporate spokesperson in San Diego Monday emphasized that the vast majority of the company’s trades are in natural gas, electricity or metals.
Industry Briefs
The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC)approved the merger of Northeast Utilities, the state’s largestelectric utility, and Yankee Energy System, the parent of YankeeGas Services, the state’s largest gas distributor. Yankeeshareholders approved the merger agreement, in which YES willbecome a subsidiary of NU, on Oct. 12. According to the deal, NUwill pay $478 million for all of YES common equity. The mergerstill requires the approval of the Securities and ExchangeCommission, which is expected early next year.