Fired

A PG&E Corp. subsidiary broke ground last week on itsmassive La Paloma gas-fired power plant. The 1,048 MW generatingfacility will burn about 150 MMcf/d of gas and will be connected tothe Kern-Mojave Pipeline about 40 miles west of Bakersfield. Itwill be the largest merchant power plant in the state and isexpected to begin operations in summer 2001.

Williams said its new 170 MW gas-fired power plant underconstruction in Worthington, IN, will support a full requirementsagreement with Bloomington-based Hoosier Energy and that Hoosierwill have an option to buy the plant at the end of the contractterm.

Williams said its new 170 MW gas-fired power plant underconstruction in Worthington, IN, will support a full requirementsagreement with Bloomington-based Hoosier Energy and that Hoosierwill have an option to buy the plant at the end of the contractterm.

A PG&E Corp. subsidiary broke ground yesterday on itsmassive La Paloma gas-fired power plant. The 1,048 MW generatingfacility will burn about 150 MMcf/d of gas and will be connected tothe Kern-Mojave Pipeline about 40 miles west of Bakersfield. Itwill be the largest merchant power plant in the state and isexpected to begin operations in summer 2001.

Strong gas prices and the promise of robust demand fromgas-fired generation are making industry executives almost giddy.Production may be waning in the shallow Gulf of Mexico, but it iswaxing in the greater depths. Ditto for LNG imports. Canadianproducers look south and see market, north and see future supply.It’s all good if you can overlook the fact Wall Street isn’t payingmuch attention.

Dynegy announced the second phase of development on theCalcasieu Generation Project, a gas-fired peaking facility nearLake Charles, LA. The addition of a 165 MW combustion turbine willbe completed during the second quarter of 2001, bringing the powerplant’s total generating capacity to a nominal 320 MW. Constructionon the initial 155 MW phase began during the fourth quarter of1999. Commercial operation will begin on June 1, 2000. “We’vedecided to expand the facility’s generating capacity in order tomeet the rapidly growing demands of the wholesale energy market inthe state of Louisiana and throughout the Southeast. If marketconditions warrant, this site could potentially see furtherexpansion beyond 2001,” said Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy president andCOO. The Calcasieu Generation Project is constructed on a 20-acresite within the Rose Bluff Industrial Area near Lake Charles. Gaswill be delivered through Koch Gateway and Sabine Pipe Line.Transmission access for power transactions will be delivered via a230-kV Entergy Services transmission line. In addition, Dynegyannounced it signed a five-year power purchase agreement with ClecoCorp., a regional energy services company based in Pineville, LA,to supply up to 310 MW of capacity and energy. The majority will besupplied by the Calcasieu Generation Project.

PG&E Corp.’s National Energy Group began construction on theLa Paloma Generating Plant, a 1,048 MW gas-fired, combined-cyclefacility expected to begin operating in the summer of 2001. Theplant is estimated to burn about 180,000 MMcf/d, and Kern-Mojave isthe closest pipeline source, a spokesman said.

FERC has conditionally approved a tariff proposal calling forPanhandle Eastern Pipe Line to provide a new hourly firmtransportation (HFT) service for gas-fired power generationfacilities, as well as for its other eligible customers.

Wisconsin Gas fired back at the latest ANR challenge to theGuardian Pipeline project to serve the Wisconsin market. The companytook issue with an ANR press release of last week (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15). The release challenged Guardianto release detailed information about its costs and rates and said theproject was not competitive with alternatives following a presentationto a state business group.