Door

Top FERC officials will meet in a closed-door session today todiscuss the results of its investigation into whether Kinder MorganInterstate Gas Transmission has properly implemented theCommission-ordered operational restructuring in compliance with themarketing-affiliate standards of Order 497.

Anyone who was complaining about a lack of winter likely hasshut up by now, and for good reason. Right on top of the first one,the eastern United States last week was bracing for its second coldsnap of the year.

Bath Petroleum Storage, Inc. (BPSI), a company operating in aprime Northeast salt cavern storage location, is up for sale.

Gov. Bill Owens recently signed Colorado’s gas deregulationbill, SB99-153, opening the door for voluntary unbundling by thestate’s gas utilities. The question now is how many utilities willwalk through the opening?

Gov. Bill Owens signed SB99-153 last week, opening the door forvoluntary unbundling by Colorado’s gas utilities. The bill had beenpassed by the state’s House of Representatives then presented tothe Governor May 17.

The surprisingly small storage withdrawal last week of 69 Bcf,as reported late Wednesday by the American Gas Association, tookthe blame for a 12.1-cent tumble in the April Henry Hub futurescontract yesterday. Most observers were expecting about 110 Bcf tobe withdrawn, so the AGA report was enough to trigger along-awaited correction. Heavy selling sent the front-month Nymexgas futures contract cascading down throughout the day to a low of$1.810 before closing at $1.820.

In an effort to strengthen its ties with regulators, nationalpolicy makers and member companies, the American Gas Association(AGA) announced plans last week to move its headquarters next Marchfrom Arlington, VA, to downtown Washington, D.C. The associationwill take up residence on the fourth floor of the Hall of the Statebuilding’s south tower at 400 N. Capitol Street, which is twoblocks away from the Capitol building and four blocks from FERC.

The recent price spikes and generation outages in the Midwestpower market have opened the door wide for the natural gas industryto capture a greater share of the industrial energy market, says asenior economist.