General

The Market Oversight and Enforcement Section of FERC’s Office ofGeneral Counsel has ordered Williams Gas Pipelines Central Inc. topay refunds and reduce its base tariff rates for customers servedby its Webb storage facility in Grant County, OK.

For nearly all points, the late-November swing price softeningthat had begun Monday upon emergence from the holiday weekendcontinued at a much accelerated pace Tuesday. The conspicuousexceptions? The same ones that have dazzled the rest of the marketsince Thanksgiving week began with numbers well over $10:California and the Pacific Northwest points where Canadian gas istraded (Sumas, Stanfield and Kingsgate).

High natural gas prices, performance issues and higher thanexpected maintenance costs, a general economic slowdown and severalother key factors will combine to create a “near-term meltdown inthe gas turbine market,” according to a report by WEFA, Inc.

High natural gas prices, performance issues and higher thanexpected maintenance costs, a general economic slowdown and severalother key factors will combine to create a “near-term meltdown inthe gas turbine market,” according to a report by WEFA, Inc.

Except for moderate firmness for intra-Alberta and Rockiespoints Monday, the cash market tended to stay on the downward slopethat had developed Friday. However, Monday’s declines were smallerthan those for the weekend, ranging mostly between a nickel and adime.

The cash market went into a general stand-pat mode Wednesday,awaiting developments on the tropical storm, cold weather andstorage fronts. Nearly all points were united in seeing littleprice movement either up or down.

Atlanta-based Southern Co. upped its service agreements withGeneral Electric Co. to more than $1 billion yesterday aftersigning a multi-year service agreement with its GE Power Systemsunit for $575 million for its new combined-cycle power plants.

California’s State Auditor General formally began contacting the state’s nonprofit electric grid operator (Cal-ISO) and wholesale spot power market (Cal-PX) Wednesday in a state legislature-ordered investigation that could lead to the merger of the two entities. The state’s electricity price spikes and supply shortfall this summer prompted legislative action in August ordering the probe.

Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Lay got in a few shots at theelectric industry in general, and the California marketspecifically, during a conference earlier this week that was calledto address spiraling winter gas prices.