Flat

Wednesday’s market outside the Northeast was a repeat of Tuesday’s: nearly all points less than a dime up or down from flat. Meanwhile, Northeast citygates made their second reversal of price direction in as many days, but rising by only double-digit amounts this time instead of ringing up multi-dollar moves as on Monday and Tuesday.

Uniform price movement nearly returned to the spot market Thursday. Only flat quotes for NGPL Amarillo Mainline and Cheyenne Hub kept all points from recording declines. Modest warming trends in the South and Northeast combined with the fact that Thursday’s trading covered the weekend through Monday — with the accompanying decline of industrial load — to induce the overall softness.

In a state where the per-capita energy use has stayed essentially flat for more than three decades, California regulators Thursday expanded utility ratepayer-funded energy efficiency programs for major private-sector energy utilities. Low Income Energy Efficiency (LIEE) programs along with a one-year pilot program to merge energy and water conservation efforts were approved in separate actions by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

Growing wellhead deliverability and flat-to-intermittent regional natural gas export capacity continue to bedevil Rocky Mountain producers, but it remains to be seen whether the Rockies Express (REX) Pipeline will turn out to be the “basis savior” some expect, an energy consultant said last week.

Growing wellhead deliverability and flat-to-intermittent regional natural gas export capacity continue to bedevil Rocky Mountain producers, but it remains to be seen whether the Rockies Express (REX) Pipeline will turn out to be the “basis savior” some expect, said Pace Global Energy Services.

Prices ranged from flat to about 30 cents higher at a solid majority of points Monday as the overall cash market shrugged off the 33.9-cent dive by November futures last Friday and a continuing lack of significant Atlantic tropical activity to focus on hot weather in the Midwest and south-central U.S. along with the return of industrial load from its typical weekend hiatus.

Quarterly results were essentially flat when excluding nonrecurring items for Southwest Gas Corp. which faces the challenge of fine tuning its strategy for maximizing its regulatory climate and gaining rate changes. Last week the Las Vegas, NV-based company reported a loss of $337,000, or 1 cent/share, for the second quarter, compared with profits of $3.7 million, or 9 cents/share, for the same period last year.

While second quarter results were essentially flat when excluding nonrecurring items, the continuing moderation of growth in Nevada and Arizona challenges Las Vegas, NV-based Southwest Gas Corp. to fine tune its strategy for maximizing its regulatory climate and gaining rate changes that minimize weather and seasonal impacts on its rates. Southwest reported a loss of $337,000, or 1 cent/share, for the second quarter Monday, compared with profits of $3.7 million, or 9 cents/share for the same period last year.

Despite good performances by its natural gas production and pipeline businesses in the first quarter, The Williams Cos. reported flat profits from a year ago due to heavy losses suffered on the power side.