Ended

Legal action against a just-retired state regulator, Henry Duque, ended last week when the California Supreme Court refused to take an appeal by the former commissioner’s opponents, but the court roadblock prompted a powerful state legislator to propose a new law that in the future would automatically toss out a regulator caught voluntarily buying stock in a company that he or she regulated.

Florida Gas Transmission did not extend an Overage Alert Day notice for its market area beyond Friday.

Except for plunges in the Rockies, the market ended the week on a considerably stronger price note Friday than some had been expecting. A few Midcontinent pipes (Williams, NGPL-Midcontinent and Reliant-West) were close to either side of flat, but gains at other non-Rockies points ranged from a little less than a dime to more than a dollar (Algonquin citygate). A majority of the upticks were between a dime and a quarter, with much larger ones clustered in Northeast citygates.

Sonat lifted Friday the OFO Type 3 that was implemented Thursday for eight system groups. It also ended capacity allocations for four other groups.

Florida Gas Transmission ended Wednesday an Overage Alert Day notice that had begun Monday. FGT also informed customers Wednesday afternoon that the excess liquids issue from a pigging operation on Matagorda Offshore Pipeline System had been resolved, and it began accepting full nominations up to the capacity of 230,000 MMBtu/d at the FGT-MOPS interconnect in South Texas for Wednesday’s Intraday 2 cycle.

Florida Gas Transmission ended Thursday an Overage Alert Day notice that had begun Tuesday.

While completing its calculations for fiscal 2002, which ended for Piedmont Natural Gas on Oct. 31, the Charlotte, NC distributor Tuesday said its earnings for fiscal year 2003, which ends Oct. 31, 2003, are expected to be between $2.05 and $2.15 per diluted share.

Buoyed by hot weather and spiking Northeast physical prices, natural gas futures ended higher Tuesday, as commercial traders continued to favor the long side of the market. After touching the $3.00 mark Tuesday afternoon for the first time since Aug. 1, the September contract ebbed slightly to close at $2.975, a 1-cent increase for the session. With 102,854 contracts changing hands, Tuesday’s heavy volume in the gas pit lent credibility to the up-move.

Florida Gas Transmission ended Thursday an Overage Alert Day notice for its market area that had been in effect since July 27.