Events

In a surprising turn of events, Senate Republicans struck an agreement with the White House over the weekend which cleared the way for Senate approval of about 175 pending nominations, including that of FERC Commissioner Suedeen G. Kelly for a second term, and which will result in the expected recess appointment of two nominees to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in January, Senate Energy Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM) said.

Ever since Enron crashed and a wave of related negative events came down on the gas industry, there have been concerns about the health and even the fate of the gas spot market. But trying to take the spot market’s pulse isn’t easy. In fact to do it with any accuracy is darn near impossible, according to several market experts.

Ever since Enron crashed and a wave of related negative events came down on the gas industry, there have been concerns about the health and even the fate of the gas spot market. But trying to take the spot market’s pulse isn’t easy. In fact to do it with any accuracy is darn near impossible, according to several market experts.

The daily drubbing of bad news within the energy merchant sector might indicate that the downgrades, asset sales and layoffs are characteristic of the entire energy industry, said Standard & Poor’s (S&P) in a recent report. However, the sector’s problems began “well before” California’s power crisis and Enron Corp.’s bankruptcy, and then were hit by collateral damage. Despite the upheaval, however, companies that have kept their solid, less dynamic cash flow from physical energy assets still retain their “investment-grade characteristics.”

Despite the recent topsy-turvy events that have plagued the energy industry over the past couple of months, AEC’s board of directors said Monday that it has approved the company’s 2002 capital budget and confirmed that AEC is on course to achieve its strategic growth plans through 2004.

Almost three months after TradeSpark LP lost half of its staff when the towers of the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, the company reported that it has seen steady growth in activity and participants on its electronic energy marketplace for the trading of a variety of energy products. In addition, the company said it saw a “significant jump” when EnronOnline went offline last week.

Capitol Hill has wasted little time in calling for hearings and investigations into the events that led up to and caused the financial collapse of energy giant Enron Corp.

In light of the “tragic events” of last week and the “high state of alert the country is now experiencing,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday assured regulated energy companies that it will give the “highest priority” to applications that are filed to recover the costs associated with upgrading the security of their systems.

In light of the “tragic events” of this week and the “high state of alert the country is now experiencing,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today assured regulated energy companies that it will give the “highest priority” to applications that are filed to recover the costs associated with upgrading the security of their systems.