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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.

William McCormick, CEO of CMS Energy called for the Michiganlegislature to pave the way for added electric generation and fullcompetition in the state. He presented his comments to a group ofpeople at the Midland Cogeneration Venture (MCV) 10th yearanniversary ceremonies yesterday.

A peak at some producer year-end results suggests average dailydomestic gas production could be down about 3% 1998 to 1999.

The 2000 cash market was sluggish and weak Tuesday as a fullcomplement of traders finally returned to their offices followingthe New Year’s holiday break. A sharp futures decline coupled withonly moderately cold weather in most regions depressed most pointsby about a dime or more below the levels at which they rang out theold year Thursday.

ANR Pipeline unloaded an arsenal at the Guardian Pipelineproject yesterday in a protest and request for dismissal filed withFERC. If Guardian is built, it would be a bypass of ANR, resultingin 650 MDth/d of firm transportation capacity being turned back tothe Coastal subsidiary. That turnback capacity would mean a loss of$54 million in annual revenue, ANR said, of which $26 million couldbe avoided if Wisconsin Gas accepted a competing proposal presentedby ANR. ANR is requesting it be allowed to charge Wisconsin Gas anexit fee if Guardian is approved.

With its seemingly bottomless stomach rumbling again, EnergyEast bought Berkshire Energy Resources for $96 million last week inan attempt to complement its growth strategy and gain new gascustomers in western Massachusetts. The companies said they expectto complete the transaction within 12 months. As part of the deal,Energy East also assumed $40 million of Berkshire’s preferred stockand long-term debt.

With its seemingly bottomless stomach rumbling again, EnergyEast bought Berkshire Energy Resources for $96 million yesterday asa complement to its growth strategy and to gain new gas customersin western Massachusetts. The companies said they expect tocomplete the transaction within 12 months. As part of the deal,Energy East also assumed $40 million of Berkshire’s preferred stockand long-term debt.

After the first full week of trading, Altra Energy Technologies’new online power trading platform, Altrade Power, has been an”absolute” success, the company said last week. The new system,which started service Oct. 14, has already performed transactionstotaling two million MWh.

A room full of producers was asked last week in Houston whetherthey would contract to sell gas for $3 for 10 years, adjusted forinflation. Only a smattering of hands went up. Clearly, optimismhas returned to the industry.