Deals

Following more than a nine-hour delay to the start of FERC meeting yesterday, a very divided Commission voted out a controversial market monitoring and mitigation plan that will attempt to tame wholesale power prices in the ailing California energy market over the next year.

TXU Energy Services signed a 10-year multi-million dollaragreement with Aperian Inc. to own, operate and maintain themechanical and electrical energy equipment at Aperian’s fiveInternet data centers, located in Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Phoenixand Tampa. The contract also includes all future phases ofexpansion.

TXU Energy Services signed a 10-year multi-million dollaragreement with Aperian Inc. to own, operate and maintain themechanical and electrical energy equipment at Aperian’s fiveInternet data centers, located in Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Phoenixand Tampa. The contract also includes all future phases ofexpansion.

During a time of mega-deals, PG&E National Energy Group(NEG) reported late last week that it had entered into one of theU.S. power industry’s largest with GE Power Systems’ EnergyServices unit. Bethesda, MD-based NEG entered into a long-termservice agreement for more than $1 billion.

Meeting in a special session last week, California’s regulatorsgave PG&E’s utility authority to amend its gas supply deals tokeep supplies flowing to the state past Tuesday when the currentfederal DOE emergency order expires. But regulators postponedaction on another PG&E request that Southern California Gas Co.over its strong protests be compelled to provide emergency suppliesto PG&E’s gas utility residential and small business customers.That issue is scheduled to come up Thursday when the regulatorsreconvene.

A special session yesterday of California’s regulators gavePG&E’s utility authority to amend its gas supply deals to keepsupplies flowing to the state past Feb. 7 when the current federalDOE emergency order expires, but it postponed action on anotherPG&E request that Southern California Gas Co. — which hasstrongly objected — be compelled to provide emergency supplies tothe PG&E utility’s residential and small business customers.

Quicksilver Resources decided to start 2001 with a bang as thecompany announced last week that it had completed the acquisitionof nearly all of Mercury Exploration Co.’s natural gas processing,gathering, transmission, compression and marketing assets for justover $18 million. The Fort Worth-based company also announced thatit has completed the purchase of the remaining minority interest inits Canadian subsidiary, MGV Energy, for the equivalent of 283,669shares of Quicksilver common stock.

FERC last week approved a proposed $1 billion venture between New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. and privately held Koch Industries Inc., which many believe will emerge as one of the top energy traders in North America. The deal still requires the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Pressured lower by weaker crude oil futures along with a saggingphysical market, natural gas at the New York Mercantile Exchangewas softer Thursday with buyers on the sidelines, unwilling to addto their already hefty longs. After chopping lower for most of thesession the October contract received a late boost on renewedhurricane fears. However those late gains were more than offset byearly losses and that left the prompt month in negative territory,off 3.1 cents at $5.287 at the close yesterday.