Fully

North America has yet to see the arrival of the quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) envisioned just a few years ago, but the global commodity is on its way, and its impact on gas supply balancing is yet to be fully imagined.

North America has yet to see the arrival of the quantity of liquefied natural gas (LNG) envisioned just a few years ago, but the global commodity is on its way, and its impact on gas supply balancing is yet to be fully imagined.

The CEO of an Anchorage, AK-based energy services firm, VECO Corp., and another company official pleaded guilty last Monday to bribery and conspiracy charges arising from a federal probe into public corruption of Alaska politicians.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s practices involving ex parte (off-the-record) communications are “fully consistent” with existing law, and in fact are “more stringent” than the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), said a noted legal expert last Monday.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s practices involving ex parte (off-the-record) communications are “fully consistent” with existing law, and in fact are “more stringent” than the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), said a noted legal expert Monday.

Agrium Inc., which has been searching for more than a year for ways to secure natural gas supplies for its Nikiski nitrogen plant in Kenai, AK, said Thursday it has begun a detailed feasibility review on the proposed Kenai Blue Sky Coal Gasification Project. If the project is completed, it could be operational by 2011.

CenterPoint declared a Critical Period Thursday, saying its system is fully subscribed and operating at or near full utilization, and thus it “is requiring customers systemwide, particularly those whose swings can cause operational difficulties…to take deliveries as close to ratably as possible throughout the day during the period that this alert is in effect.” CenterPoint said it will not allow shipper’ takes to exceed hourly ratable entitlements (based on nominated and scheduled quantities) by more than 5% in any hour at the Perryville Hub, 20% in any hour for the North Louisiana and East Texas Core and Secondary systems, and 50% per hour for the remainder of the system.

Fully financially recovered 18 months after emerging from three years in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. Friday filed a $682 million general rate increase request for 2007 with the California Public Utilities Commission. The bulk of the request — $481 million — is for its electric distribution utility operations, with the rest covering its natural gas distribution utility ($114 million) and electric generation ($87 million).

In another sign PG&E has fully cleared its post-Chapter 11 bankruptcy, utility officials lowered the amount of the energy recovery bonds that will be sold later this year by more than $300 million, meaning they will total about $800 million rather than the previously estimated $1.1 billion. A series of settlements of suppliers’ outstanding claims against the utility has permitted the reduction.