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Legislation to create a Montana power authority that would be allowed to, among other things, acquire electrical generation facilities, recently cleared the Montana legislature. A state lawmaker who sponsored the measure expressed confidence the HB 474 would be signed into law by the governor no later than May 10.

MRT said Thursday it is not accepting any nominations thatcreate a short imbalance on its system, effective immediately.Currently short customers are expected to correct their position bythe end of the month and remain in balance. The pipeline remindedno-notice customers that they may change their no-notice option andallow storage withdrawals to eliminate any imbalance.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) last week applauded the Bush administration move to create a Cabinet-level task force to address a national energy policy, but he said the effort would “barely scratch the surface” of all the critical energy issues facing the nation at this time.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) yesterday applauded the Bushadministration move to create a Cabinet-level task force to addressa national energy policy, but he said the effort would “barelyscratch the surface” of the real energy issues facing the nation atthis time.

MRT said Wednesday it is not accepting nominations that create along imbalance on its system. Customers who are currently long areexpected to correct their imbalance position by the end of thisweek and to remain in balance for the rest of February. No-noticecustomers were reminded that they may correct imbalances bychanging their no-notice option and allowing storage withdrawals toeliminate the imbalance.

Rep. Tony Hall (D-OH) has introduced legislation to create anatural gas reserve to help stabilize the market during times oflow supply and high prices. The proposed reserve would be modeledafter the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and the Northeast HomeHeating Oil reserve, the latter of which allows heating oilsupplies to be drawn down during times of tight supply.

FirstEnergy and GPU took another step toward sealing theirmerger that would create the nation’s sixth largest investor-ownedelectric system serving 4.3 million customers in Ohio, Pennsylvaniaand New Jersey. The companies’ shareholders overwhelmingly votedyesterday to approve the $12 billion union at concurrentshareholder meetings. The merger still needs approvals from theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission, New Jersey Board of PublicUtilities, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, NuclearRegulatory Commission, Federal Communications Commission,Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justiceunder the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. The companies expect the deal toclose sometime during the summer of 2001. Upon completion of theunion, the new company will adopt the name FirstEnergy and will bea registered holding company under the Public Utility HoldingCompany Act of 1935.

Mobil Canada and Imperial Oil Ltd. said last week that as ofNov. 15 the companies will form a strategic business alliance tocreate synergies while pursuing new oil and gas production venturesin Canada. Even though ExxonMobil owns Mobil Canada and a 69.7%majority share of Imperial Oil, the move is not a merger of thecompany’s Canadian assets. Instead, the companies will share commonbusiness and operational support services while remaining separateoperating entities.

Mobil Canada and Imperial Oil Ltd. said yesterday that as ofNov. 15 the companies will form a strategic business alliance tocreate synergies while pursuing new oil and gas production venturesin Canada. Although it is not a merger, the companies will sharecommon business and operational support services.