Future

The cash market appeared to be entering a holding stage Wednesday as moderate upticks earlier in the week yielded to a mix of flat, slightly higher and slightly lower pricing that tended to be dominated by mild gains. The slowdown in price movement largely was attributed to cool-downs in the Northeast and Midwest market areas, reducing the air conditioning load that had supported the previous advances.

Having reached the halfway point of its goal of 2,400 MW of load reductions in the near future, the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) acting administrator Steve Wright earlier this week urged utilities and industries that have yet to commit to reduce their power purchases from BPA to get off the sidelines and do so. Daily GPI April 11

Natural-gas suppliers and buyers got what they wanted north of the U.S. border–a truly competitive market in delivery services is at hand, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. has told the National Energy Board. TransCanada predicts that within five years, two-thirds of its long-distance capacity for 7.5 Bcf/d will be sold the same way as most of the gas in its lines, on short contracts. “The traditional regulatory compact,” which kept the system reliably full on long service contracts, “has been dismantled” by allowing rivals to build new capacity.

Gas suppliers and buyers got what they wanted north of the U.S. border and a truly competitive market in delivery services is at hand, TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. told the National Energy Board. TransCanada predicts that within five years, two-thirds of its long-distance capacity for 7.5 Bcf/d will be sold the same way as most of the gas in its lines, on short contracts. “The traditional regulatory compact,” which kept the system reliably full on long service contracts, “has been dismantled” by allowing rivals to build new capacity.

In separate financial moves this week, Edison International, the parent of near-bankrupt Southern California Edison, and the State of California will be looking at separate bond issues for which the financial markets have little appetite. They could be harbingers of Wall Street’s ultimate level of acceptance of the state’s planned largest public bond sale ever in late August or early September.

As natural gas storage levels recently erased the long-standing deficit when compared to last year’s levels, turning it into a surplus for the first time since January 2000, analysts are being forced to take another look at their natural gas price forecasts for the remainder of 2001 and for 2002.

Having reached the halfway point of its goal of 2,400 MW of load reductions in the near future, the Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) acting administrator Steve Wright last week urged utilities and industries that have yet to commit to reduce their power purchases from BPA to get off the sidelines and do so. NGI April 16)

Mexican President Vicente Fox, elected last year on a promise to improve the country’s economic future, has begun actively courting “out-of-towners” in the hopes of encouraging capital investments in his country. With several productive global trade missions completed, Fox now is turning his attention further north, courting Canadian oil and gas producers in his plan to develop Mexico’s untapped oil and gas reserves.

Mexican President Vicente Fox, elected last year on a promise to improve the country’s economic future, has begun actively courting “out-of-towners” in the hopes of encouraging capital investments in his country. With several productive global trade missions completed, Fox now is turning his attention further north, courting Canadian oil and gas producers in his plan to develop Mexico’s untapped oil and gas reserves.