Generally

Except for the direction of movement, Thursday’s price changes generally resembled those that opened the week. But this time the direction was down — way down — as the market bowed to approaching relief from a devastating heat wave in key northern markets and a slightly diminished threat of Tropical Storm Chris to the Gulf of Mexico production area.

Prices were mixed in Wednesday’s resumption of trading after a four-day holiday weekend, but generally tended to be stronger in the Midcontinent and West and weaker in the Gulf Coast and Northeast. Rains were dampening power generation load from New Mexico and Texas through the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, and below normal temperatures in several other areas left the desert Southwest as the only remaining repository of high heat levels.

Although continued generally light weather-based load and a prior-day drop of just over a quarter in July futures didn’t seem to support it, the cash market was able to rally by mostly moderate amounts Tuesday at a large majority of points. A trader of the Chicago citygate suggested there was still enough storage buying happening to stanch the market’s early-week softness.

On behalf of the state generally and its Department of Water Resources (DWR) in particular, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer late last Thursday filed preliminary objections to the proposed class action settlement of Sempra Energy.

Thursday’s trading for end-of-March flows was a near-repeat of the day before — generally modest price movement both up and down, with South and East Texas joining Northeast citygates in seeing much of the softening and gains being recorded at almost all points in the Midcontinent and West.

As part of an industry panel that generally talked bullishly about investment in new transmission infrastructure, PG&E Corp.’s CFO Christopher Johns stressed his utility company’s increased interest in investing in new interstate natural gas and electric transmission projects. While PG&E doesn’t want to own liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, the company wants to be able to access LNG wherever it lands in the West, Johns told a financial audience at the Citigroup’s First Annual Power, Gas and Utilities Conference in Miami, FL.

Rolling blackouts are generally considered a scourge of hot summer days when electricity demand for air conditioning pushes generation and transmission beyond capacity. However, electric utilities that rely on gas-fired generators are vulnerable during the winter due to the potential for gas well freeze-offs. Xcel Energy and some of its Colorado customers found this out over the holiday weekend.

Rolling blackouts are generally considered a scourge of hot summer days when electricity demand for air conditioning pushes generation and transmission beyond capacity. However, electric utilities that rely on gas-fired generators are vulnerable during the winter due to the potential for gas well freeze-offs. Xcel Energy and some of its Colorado customers found this out over the holiday weekend.

Other than increases at most western points, there was little consistency in Thursday’s price movement. Eastern markets generally were weaker due to mild weather and the screen’s drop of about a quarter a day earlier, but had several scattered points ranging from flat to up a little more than 40 cents in the mix.