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Efforts by several western electric utilities to form a for-profit independent transmission company (ITC) known as TransConnect LLC advanced last week after FERC told the ITC’s sponsors what it likes and doesn’t like about the proposed ITC in such areas as transmission expansion and planning and TransConnect’s plans to allow for participation in the ITC by transmission entities that don’t want to divest their assets.

Houston-based independent EEX Corp. last week was negotiating with its lenders on a revised credit facility, which terminates June 27, 2002. “However,” it said, “there can be no assurance that the company will be able to replace its current credit facility with a new credit facility containing terms acceptable.” EEX, which also lost money in the fourth quarter through a natural gas sales obligation to an Enron Corp. affiliate, reported that its 10-K would contain a modification about the company’s “going concern” uncertainty without new credit.

Duke Energy and Westcoast Energy Inc. announced Friday that Duke Energy’s acquisition of Westcoast Energy took another major step forward as the Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the final period for review under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act.

FERC staff concluded in a report to Congress last week that the Commission’s wholesale price caps during the last half of 2001 in the western power market had little or no economic impact because prices of surplus power resold by utilities in the spot market on average were only $35/MWh compared to the cap at $92/MWh.

As part of its ongoing investigation into the collapse of Enron, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA), along with Ranking Member John Dingell (D-MI), Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman James Greenwood (R-PA) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Peter Deutsch (D-FL), called on former Enron CEO Kenneth Lay to explain in detail the personal loans he obtained from the company. The Congressmen told Lay they want to determine what impact his unreported financial activity may have had on company shareholders and employees.

Petro-Canada stepped forward as the first Canadian natural-gas supplier to disclose its share of the impact from Enron Corp.’s collapse, while efforts got under way to minimize the damage north of the border. Petro-Canada told its stockholders it has made a provision for “outstanding receivables” that will cut its fourth-quarter earnings by about C$15 million (US$9.6 million). The company said that it has switched 115 MMcf/d of production away from Enron to other gas traders without disrupting operations.

Petro-Canada stepped forward as the first Canadian natural-gas supplier to disclose its share of the impact from Enron Corp.’s collapse, while efforts got under way to minimize the damage north of the border. Petro-Canada told its stockholders it has made a provision for “outstanding receivables” that will cut its fourth-quarter earnings by about C$15 million (US$9.6 million). The company said that it has switched 115 MMcf/d of production away from Enron to other gas traders without disrupting operations.

Fresh off of their latest Congressional recess, Democrats in the House of Representatives last week continued to round up support for a discharge petition that would force consideration of energy price-cap legislation on to the House floor. The Democrats now need less than 60 signatures from lawmakers in order to move the price-cap bill sponsored by Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) directly to the House floor.

Citing a newfound “emphasis on the natural gas in the past eight months,” California regulators last Thursday moved ahead on several key natural gas issues, while delaying action on electricity issues that are caught up in concurrent state legislative proceedings. The regulators also provided an exemption for rolling blackouts for the major petroleum refineries in the state.