Fashion

In an eleventh-hour move designed to fashion a three-vote majority on the stalemated California Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and a leading utility consumer group, TURN, late Monday filed a revised plan for bringing the utility out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy with an investment-grade credit rating.

In its usual split fashion, the five-member California Public Utilities Commission Thursday voted 3-2 to allow Southern California Edison Co. on an interim basis to hedge a portion of its natural gas price risk in power supply contracts with small qualifying facility (QF) electricity generators. Specifics of the authority are kept confidential for proprietary reasons. The hedges cannot extend beyond June 30, 2004.

In its usual split fashion, the five-member California Public Utilities Commission Thursday voted 3-2 to allow Southern California Edison Co. on an interim basis to hedge a portion of its natural gas price risk in power supply contracts with small qualifying facility (QF) electricity generators. Specifics of the authority are kept confidential for proprietary reasons. The hedges cannot extend beyond June 30, 2004.

Tropical Storm Bertha, which made landfall in southeastern Louisiana Monday morning before being downgraded to a tropical depression, had no impact on production and provided no impetus for the September natural gas futures contract to stage a rally. Instead, September plunged sharply lower at the open and proceeded to bust through prior support in the high $2.70s before resting at $2.678 at the end of the day, the lowest level on the spot continuation chart since the first week in March.

The futures market began the week in much the same fashion thatit concluded last week-quiet, range-bound trading where neitherbull nor bear could make much of an impact. After notching up to a$2.23 high late in the session Monday, the August contract filteredlower to settle at $2.207, a 2-cent gain for the day.

The futures market sauntered into the weekend Friday in a verysimilar fashion to the way it traded throughout the week-in aboring, hum-drum manner. The March contract was limited to a paltry2.5-cent trading range, slipping 0.1 cents lower to settle at$1.745. Estimated volume was evidence of the quiet trading as only42,085 contracts changed hands.

A steep price spike highlighted a lasting change in natural gasprices at Sumas, the Washington state entry point for exports fromBritish Columbia, say Canadian producers and marketers.

The futures market began the week Tuesday in the same fashion itclosed out last week – probing higher amid a technical bouncesupported by continued apprehension about tropical storm activity.That enabled the October contract to post a gain for its third dayin a row by advancing 9.1 cents to $1.874.

September debuted as the spot Nymex contract Thursday in afairly uneventful fashion, by first trading briefly higher, beforelight selling pushed the market down to settle at $1.906, a 2.7cent loss for the day. Traders continue to point to the currentdowntrend that “exerts its influence on this market at every turn,”as a reason for the move lower. “[Thursday] there was not muchimpetus to move higher or lower, but the mentality in this marketcontinues to be buy little dips and sell the rest of the time,” atrader offered.