Forced

Record demand of 659 MMcf/d earlier this week on San Diego Gas& Electric’s system forced the utility to curtail about 120MMcf/d of deliveries to six interruptible customers, including twopower generators and four commercial and industrial customers inSouthern California, a spokesman said yesterday. Demand on thesystem yesterday would have exceeded SDG&E’s capacity withoutthe curtailments, said SDG&E spokesman Art Larson.

Cold weather and strong demand in the Northeast forced KeySpanEnergy shut-off supplies to 650 interruptible commercial customerson Long Island on Christmas eve.

Chemical companies, forced to shut in operations because of highnatural gas prices, are nevertheless making money — by sellinggas futures contracts.

As Kansas City, MO-based Mountain Energy Corp. was forced intobankruptcy and its assets seized last week, more allegations wereemerging that the gas marketer spent millions of dollars of companyfunds on stock in a five-year-old e-business company whose valuehas nose-dived over the past year.

With little in the way of fresh fundamental news Thursday,traders were forced to rely on technical factors, which continuedto steer them to the long side of the market. Since plumbing a$4.38 low three days ago, the prompt month has rallied 38 cents toclose at $4.76 yesterday.

The vice chairman and COO of Enron Corp.’s international divisionhas resigned, two months after the chair and CEO of the division wasapparently forced out. Joseph W. Sutton will leave Enron Nov. 1 topursue other opportunities, said the company. His boss, Rebecca Mark,resigned in August (see Daily GPI, Aug. 28).

Southwestern Energy has revealed that it will be forced to selloff some unidentified assets to cover the costs associated with aruling last week by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court affirmeda 1998 decision of a Sebastian County Circuit Court awarding morethan $109 million in a class action to royalty owners of SEECO,Inc., a wholly-owned Southwestern Energy subsidiary.

Southwestern Energy has revealed that it will be forced to selloff some unidentified assets to cover the costs associated with aruling yesterday by the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court affirmeda 1998 decision of a Sebastian County Circuit Court awarding morethan $109 million in a class action to royalty owners of SEECO,Inc., a wholly-owned Southwestern Energy subsidiary.

Energy America, the Sempra Energy affiliate that was forced by NewJersey’s Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) to halt retail activitiesbecause of slamming charges last December, reached a final agreementwith the NJBPU and New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (NJDCA)that will allow it to resume efforts to sign up New Jersey residentialand small-business customers. Under the settlement, Energy Americawill contribute $140,000 each to the NJBPU and NJDCA to furtherconsumer education on energy deregulation and to fund futureinvestigative and enforcement activities. By March Energy America willbegin to deliver electricity to its customers, when local utilityPublic Service Electric & Gas is expected to complete theelectronic switchover for customer accounts. After the Sempraaffiliate halted its activities in December, it spent five weeksrevising its marketing and training materials (see Daily GPI, Jan. 21)