Ends

While California state officials continue to promise a workoutfor the state’s energy crisis, the California Power Exchange(Cal-PX), a mainstay of the state’s 1996 electric restructuring,announced it had shut down trading in its day-ahead market andwould close out day-of wholesale electricity markets by noon today.

While the political battleground in Florida grew bloodier witheach passing day last week, natural gas pipelines eager to servethe growing market reached a truce agreement of sorts that callsfor Duke Energy and Williams to purchase the proposed GulfstreamNatural Gas System from The Coastal Corp. and ditch their competingBuccaneer Pipeline project for the state.

While the political battleground in Florida grew bloodier witheach passing day last week, natural gas pipelines eager to servethe growing market reached a truce agreement of sorts that callsfor Duke Energy and Williams to purchase the proposed GulfstreamNatural Gas System from The Coastal Corp. and ditch their competingBuccaneer Pipeline project for the state.

Despite an impressive bounce Thursday afternoon and strongerover-the-counter trades Friday morning, natural gas futures werehit with a second day of losses Friday as locals deposited themarket lower after finding an intermediate layer of resistance at$4.16. The July and August contracts moved lower in lockstep, eachshedding 2.1 cents to finish the week at $4.043 and $4.022respectively. Estimated volume was 82,698.

Tossing aside its “tortuous” modified primary function methodfor deciding the jurisdiction of offshore pipelines, FERC last weekissued a long-awaited final rule that’s designed to bring”symmetry” to the regulation of natural gas pipelines on the OuterContinental Shelf (OCS) by imposing similar reporting burdens onall facilities.

Tossing aside its “tortuous” modified primary function methodfor deciding the jurisdiction of offshore pipelines, FERC yesterdayissued a long-awaited final rule that’s designed to bring”symmetry” to the regulation of natural gas pipelines on the OuterContinental Shelf (OCS) by imposing similar reporting burdens onall facilities.

Despite spring-like weather here, there and almost everywhere,this week’s price erosion came to a halt Thursday as many pointsturned in flat performances and a few managed small rallies.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy, the creation of a merger betweenPacific Enterprises and Enova in mid-1998, has announced avoluntary job cut plan seeking a net reduction of about 275positions, or about 2.5% of its overall work force. The majority ofthe job eliminations will be rolled out in January and will targetmanagement and administrative support jobs at Sempra’s corporateheadquarters and in its two California utilities, SouthernCalifornia Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy, the creation of a merger betweenPacific Enterprises and Enova in mid-1998, has announced avoluntary job cut plan seeking a net reduction of about 275positions, or about 2.5% of its overall work force. The majority ofthe job eliminations will be rolled out in January focusing onmanagement and administrative support jobs at Sempra’s corporateheadquarters and in its two California utilities, SouthernCalifornia Gas and San Diego Gas and Electric.