Electrics

Global credit woes continue to seep into the public-sector utility space where the electrics made bold natural gas hedging plays in recent years, and at least one of the major ratings agencies, Moody’s Investors Service, on Thursday downgraded several of the utilities in California and elsewhere around the nation. The hedges were bad enough that one municipal said it was closing up its hedging program.

The mergers of Columbia Energy and NiSource Inc. and El Paso Energy and Coastal Corp. breezed through the FERC review process last Wednesday, collecting seals of approval, at the same time the agency said it wanted to take another look at two proposed mergers of electric utilities.

The mergers of Columbia Energy and NiSource Inc. and El PasoEnergy and Coastal Corp. breezed through the FERC review processWednesday, collecting seals of approval at the same time the agencysaid it wanted to take another look at two proposed mergers ofelectric utilities.

Reliant Energy Gas Transmission has filed the first-everpipeline transportation proposal for an hourly service and rates tomeet the increasing swing load and peaking needs of the powergeneration industry.

Representatives of the major utility industries, natural gas,electricity and telecommunications, met in Houston this week tojointly address Y2K issues. Gary Gardner, chief information officerof the American Gas Association (AGA) cited interlocking activitiesas the basis for the meeting. For instance electricity powers manyof the pipeline compressor stations that keep the natural gasflowing. “Although gas companies have manual overrides that can beused in the event of an electrical power shortage or outage, fieldpersonnel posted at the compressor stations will rely ontelecommunications devices to communicate with their headquarters.

Anyone working for a gas company today won’t be in a few yearsif a prediction of BT Alex Brown Managing Director Edward TirelloJr. comes true. “On convergence, I believe that the electriccompanies will buy up all of the gas companies over the next fiveyears, and that will be the end of it.”

Anyone working for a gas company today won’t be in a few yearsif a prediction of BT Alex Brown Managing Director Edward TirelloJr. comes true. “On convergence, I believe that the electriccompanies will buy up all of the gas companies over the next fiveyears, and that will be the end of it.”