Easier

Electric, gas, pipeline and water utilities finally can rest a little easier after a significant decrease in the pace and scale of negative rating activity by credit rating agencies in 2004, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) said in a new report titled “U.S. Utility Downside Rating Actions Moderated Significantly in 2004.”

A new rule for oil and gas production in federal offshore waters now provides rights-of-use and easement, allowing companies easier access to areas adjacent to their leases, according to the Minerals Management Service (MMS).

Power customers in the Southwest can rest a little easier now that Duke Energy North America signed a power supply deal with cash strapped Nevada Power Co. and Sierra Pacific Power, two utility subsidiaries of Sierra Pacific Resources that serve much of Nevada and the Lake Tahoe portion of California. The utilities were in serious danger of entering the summer without adequate supply arrangements because of a credit crisis caused by a recent regulatory decision that disallowed recovery of millions in past power costs.

Creating a stand-alone transmission company is easier said than done, and companies mulling such a move, should be prepared to face a slew of impediments and surprises along the way, according to several executives who appeared last week at the Energy Bar Association’s 55th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see NGI, Nov. 6, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting last Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

Executives with NiSource Inc. can start breathing easier now as it appears that their company’s hard-fought and much-delayed merger with Columbia Energy Group last November (see Daily GPI, Nov. 1, 2000) is beginning to show its benefits. CEO Gary L. Neale told shareholders at NiSource’s annual meeting on Wednesday that the merger remains on track to add to the company’s earnings in 2001.

Legislation to make it easier to build electric power plants in Iowa finally inched its way through the Iowa House last week on a 54-44 vote, but it faces more battles in an uncompromising Senate and opposition from Gov. Tom Vilsack. Supporters argue that the bill (House File 577) would prevent a shortfall in generating capacity, which is expected by 2006.

Legislation to make it easier to build electric power plants in Iowa finally inched its way through the Iowa House this week on a 54-44 vote, but it faces more battles in an uncompromising Senate and opposition from Gov. Tom Vilsack. Supporters argue that the bill (House File 577) would prevent a shortfall in generating capacity, which is expected by 2006.

Rocky Mountains ski resort operators were starting to breathe alittle easier Tuesday. After many had missed traditional openingdates of Thanksgiving Day weekend or earlier, they welcomed asnowstorm that either was arriving or on its way. For much the samereason, Rockies/Pacific Northwest and Southwest points constitutedthe only region seeing meaningful price gains on either side of anickel Tuesday. The rest of the cash market was a sea of flatnessthat, unlike Monday, leaned slightly to the downside instead of theupside.