Houston-based Dynegy Inc.’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and planned merger with its Dynegy Holdings LLC (DH) unit, which was already in bankruptcy, has drawn differing reactions from the two major credit rating agencies, Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Rating Services (S&P).
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California ‘At-Risk’ Pipelines Stir Concerns
A report in Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle based on a utility filing to state regulators earlier this year has raised doubts about the safety of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) natural gas pipeline system and the utility’s nearly two-year effort to improve safety and reliability since the fatal San Bruno, CA, pipeline explosion.
Industry Brief
For the second time this month Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) on Wednesday admitted in a filing with state regulators that it violated federal and state safety testing standards for a part of its distribution pipeline system in San Mateo, CA, within a few miles of the September, 2010 San Bruno transmission pipeline rupture and explosion. PG&E said it discovered the violation on part of an eight-inch diameter distribution feeder line Jan. 26, and took “immediate corrective action” the following day. The combination utility explained its error in a letter to Michelle Cooke, interim director of the California Public Utility Commission’s (CPUC) Consumer Protection and Safety Division. Under federal Department of Transportation standards and PG&E’s own state-mandated rules, pipe-to-soil measurements for corrosion must be completed every 75 days. The feeder main had last been tested Oct. 5 and should have been retested by the end of 2011. “Due to error and oversight, PG&E did not identify this issue as ‘reportable’ under the CPUC [rules] until after 10 days had elapsed,” the utility told the CPUC.
Eagle Ford Production Targeted for LNG Export
The backers of multiple U.S. projects to liquefy and export domestic gas have all pointed to robust production coming from shale plays as the reason for their plans. The latest proposal by Cheniere Energy Inc. singles out the Eagle Ford Shale as a source of gas to be liquefied.
Shippers Accuse Kern River of Contract Strong-Arming
Shippers are protesting a compliance filing of Kern River Gas Transmission that they say would force shippers within the same class whose contracts are expiring to unanimously agree to renew for the same term, or face costlier rates.
Shippers Accuse Kern River of Contract Strong-Arming
Shippers are protesting a compliance filing of Kern River Gas Transmission that would force shippers within the same class whose contracts are expiring to unanimously agree to renew for the same term, or face costlier rates.
Bentek: Shifting Supply to Spark ‘Several’ Pipe Rate Cases
As natural gas pipelines serving traditional long-line routes to market in North America have begun filing for new rate hikes in an attempt to make up for the load lost to locally delivered shale gas, fundamental market changes associated with the rate increases could affect basis differentials going forward, according to a new report from Evergreen, CO-based Bentek Energy.
Unconventional Gas Growth Changing Pipe, Market Dynamics, Bentek Says
As natural gas pipelines serving traditional long-line routes to market in North America have begun filing for new rate hikes in an attempt to make up for the load lost to locally delivered shale gas, fundamental market changes associated with the rate increases could affect basis differentials going forward, according to a new report from Evergreen, CO-based Bentek Energy.
Bentek: Shifting Supply to Spark ‘Several’ Pipe Rate Cases
As natural gas pipelines serving traditional long-line routes to market in North America have begun filing for new rate hikes in an attempt to make up for the load lost to locally delivered shale gas, fundamental market changes associated with the rate increases could affect basis differentials going forward, according to a new report from Evergreen, CO-based Bentek Energy.
Process Gas Consumers Gain Ground in Pipeline Rate Cases
Natural gas pipelines serving traditional long-line routes to market have begun filing for new rate hikes of up to 500% in an attempt to make up for the load lost to locally delivered shale gas, Dena Wiggins, counsel to the Process Gas Consumers Group (PGC), told a membership meeting Thursday.