Electron

Every spare molecule of gas, drop of oil and electron is being used up and the world faces a “meltdown” of its economy unless more supplies are found, a leading energy pundit warned a capacity crowd Monday at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston.

International power producer AES Corp. announced a plan to scarfup the assets of Thermo Ecotek Corp., a subsidiary of ThermoElectron Corp. of Waltham, MA, for $195 million in cash, plusadditional closing adjustments that currently amount to another $15million. Thermo Ecotek builds and operates power plants and ownsgas storage assets. Its portfolio includes 516 MW of gas-fired,biomass-fired (agricultural and wood waste), and coal-fired powerplants in the United States, the Czech Republic, and Germany, aswell as a natural gas storage project in the United State and over1,250 MW of advanced development power projects in the UnitedStates. The transaction is likely close during the third quarter.

If SCANA Energy’s Georgia marketing strategy works, gasmolecules will follow the trail blazed by electrons into the homesand businesses of customers soon to be granted supplier choice.SCANA Energy, a division of SCANA Energy Marketing, formed amarketing alliance with two electric utility companies servingparts of metropolitan Atlanta to market gas to residential andcommercial customers.