Ease

To remedy the financial turmoil that exists for U.S. energy merchants still operating, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) suggested Thursday that they should consider relying more on “trading around their assets” by hedging and other risk-management activities.

To remedy the financial turmoil that exists for U.S. energy merchants still operating, an analyst with Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) suggested Thursday that they should consider relying more on “trading around their assets” by hedging and other risk-management activities.

Seeking to ease the flow of power across a big chunk of the Eastern Interconnection, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO), PJM Interconnection and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Wednesday announced plans to pursue the development of a multi-regional approach to strengthen electric transmission, operations and related transactions.

Echoing one another before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, representatives from production, pipeline and utility companies, as well the Energy Information Administration (EIA), agreed that the current high natural gas prices are a sign that the market is actually working — not broken as some suggest.

Echoing one another on Tuesday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, representatives from production, pipeline and utility companies, as well the Energy Information Administration (EIA), agreed that the current high natural gas prices are a sign that the market is actually working — not broken as some suggest.

Lingering concerns in the minds of some investors as to whether American Electric Power (AEP) is facing a liquidity crunch should be eased in the wake of a recently close debt offering by four of the company’s subsidiaries that yielded more than $2 billion in proceeds, a top official with AEP told a gathering of investment professionals last week.

Natural gas and oil producers are resting at ease as natural gas prices are poised to end 2002 near $5.00/MMBtu and oil prices are clinging to $26/bbl, noted a new report by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). The rating agency raised its gas price forecast last week to $2.75-3.00 (Nymex equivalent), which may appear conservative compared to other forecasts in the $3.60s or higher (EIA) and Nymex highs last week in the $5.30s.

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) last Monday took dead aim at press reports that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to roll out plans that will call for a shift away from using the stick of lawsuits to enforce clean air regulations in favor of a carrot-like approach that will urge electric utilities to voluntarily reduce toxic emissions.

The Bush administration is considering plans that would ease environmental restrictions on upgraded existing coal-fired power plants and potentially force the delay or cancellation of a significant amount of new gas-fired power generation. Some industry observers estimate the potential impact at about 40,000 MW of generation capacity or roughly about 8 Bcf/d of gas demand.