Focuses

Scorching summer heat, high oil prices and a weak hydropowersupply should lead to a significant increase in gas demand thisyear, according to a report issued last week by Friedman, Billings,Ramsey & Co., Inc. (FBR), a Virginia-based financialinstitution. Prices will probably increase throughout the summer,the firm predicted.

In its recent report on the future of natural gas prices,Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc. (FBR), a Virginia-basedfinancial institution, predicted continued price increases throughthe summer, giving way to price moderation over the long-term. Thereport, titled “The Boom in the Natural Gas Markets — Fact orFiction?” was released earlier this month.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI ) said yesterday ithas created a new program that focuses on Internet security issuesas they impact the energy industry in response to a series ofrecent hacker incidents, which brought e-business to a halt onseveral high profile websites. There is a growing concern thatsimilar intrusions could interrupt the critical interdependentsystems that support the global energy infrastructure. “Ourimmediate focus is on the vulnerabilities of the electronic systemsthat monitor and operate our business systems and provide criticalcommunications within and outside the energy business,” saidCharlie Siebenthal, manager of EPRI’s Enterprise InfrastructureSecurity (EIS) program. “In the long term, the EIS program willshift its emphasis to the design and management of electronicsecurity activities that will augment a company’s existing physicalsecurity programs.” The program will consist of a series ofworkshops covering broad program issues, in-depth electronicsecurity technical issues, and legal issues. Participation is opento any company actively engaged in the production, transportation,distribution, or sale of energy. The first EIS workshop will beheld April 26-28, 2000 in Orlando, FL. Details are posted on theprogram website, http://eis.epri.com/. For additional informationon the EIS program please contact Susan Marsland (650/855-2946) orat smarslan@epri.com.

SCANA Corp. announced it is refocusing its marketing strategy onthe retail business in the Southeast and is shutting down itsHouston office and its wholesale gas marketing operation. Thecompany would not say how much natural gas its wholesale operationhandles on a daily basis.

SCANA Corp. announced it is refocusing its marketing strategy onthe retail business in the Southeast and is shutting down itsHouston office and its wholesale gas marketing operation. Thecompany would not say how much natural gas its wholesale operationhandles on a daily basis.

From its new corporate headquarters in San Diego, officials ofthe newly merged $6.2 billion Sempra Energy yesterday stronglypromoted their goal of expanding both utility and nonutilitybusinesses throughout the U.S. in the next 10 years as energyrestructuring spreads from state to state. It plans both highprofile marketing/branding and political campaigns to further itsgoal of being “one of the top five energy services companies inNorth America.”