Dampening

Today’s historically high natural gas and oil prices globally are a major attraction, but uncertainty in the electricity regulation sector has a dampening effect as venture capital funds increasingly eye the energy space — particularly so-called clean energy — as good places to invest. The fact that energy touches such a wide variety of industries worldwide is a major attraction, according to one venture capitalist who is helping a new California green energy investment fund get started as an offshoot of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s bankruptcy settlement implemented a year ago.

Expanding upon its testimony Monday before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on dampening price volatility and improving storage surveying methods (see Daily GPI, Jan. 25), AEP’s written comments to the committee went a little further.

Reflecting similar sentiments expressed around Wall Street, a Calpine Corp. executive indicated last Tuesday that declining wholesale natural gas prices are not likely to happen anytime soon, and in the longer run, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventual Alaskan supplies won’t necessarily dampen prices as many industry observers have been predicting.

Reflecting similar sentiments expressed around Wall Street, a Calpine Corp. executive indicated Tuesday that declining wholesale natural gas prices are not likely to happen anytime soon, and in the longer run, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventual Alaskan supplies won’t necessarily dampen prices as many industry observers have been predicting.

An Arizona municipality, which seeks to start up its own gasdistribution system, has accused an out-of-state distributor ofhiding behind its Hinshaw status to justify its refusal totransport interstate gas for resale to the municipal’s potentialcustomers. Without the distributor’s transportation link, themunicipal says its dream of its own system will fizzle. Thedistributor, on the other hand, contends that its denial of transportation service is strictly a business decision.