Gone

May’s tenure as prompt month in the natural gas pit has not gone all that well for the bulls. Although there have been good days when prices ratcheted higher, most of the month has been a downer as prices tumbled from the $5.74 high — notched on April’s expiration day — down to beneath the $5.00 level Wednesday. It was only fitting that the May contract continued to slump on its expiration day Thursday. At the closing bell, the May contract limped off the board at $4.891, down 9 cents for the day and a whopping 84.9 cents off its March 28 high.

It’s crunch time on the energy policy front, and the big guns are in play, preparing the ground for the administration’s much-heralded comprehensive energy strategy. Vice President Dick Cheney has been putting in a series of media appearances lately, supporting energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and a task force of energy experts has published a report calling on the nation to make some hard choices or face “more Californias in America’s future.”

A month has gone by since a special commission formed by Florida Gov. Jeb Bush recommended that the state break up its monopoly utilities and pave the way for competition in the power generation market, but still there has been no word from the legislature. There have been signs that the state senate will move much slower than previously expected on electric restructuring because of growing awareness of what can happen when power planning goes awry.

A month has gone by since a special commission formed by FloridaGov. Jeb Bush recommended that the state break up its monopolyutilities and pave the way for competition in the power generationmarket, but still there has been no word from the legislature.There have been signs that the state senate will move much slowerthan previously expected on electric restructuring because ofgrowing awareness of what can happen when power planning goes awry.

In a trading session reminiscent of days long gone, natural gasfutures were somewhat subdued Friday as traders held prices withina tight 16-cent trading range. Armed with fresh weather forecastsas well as a constructive technical outlook, traders added to theirlength, not only in the prompt month, but also in the summercontracts. Being the last month left on the winter of 2001 strip,March continued to play the role as the sacrificial lamb as it waslimited to a modest 5.2-cent advance. Comparatively, theApril-October summer strip showed a little more life, rumbling 7.1cents higher to close at $5.725.

Responding to a California power market gone haywire andteetering on the brink of operational and financial disaster, FERCFriday issued a series of remedial measures, virtually strippingthe Cal-PX and Cal-ISO of their control of the market and callingmarket stakeholders together to negotiate bilateral forwardcontracts.

Responding to a California power market gone haywire and teetering on the brink of operational and financial disaster, FERC Friday issued a series of remedial measures, virtually stripping the Cal-PX and Cal-ISO of their control of the market and calling market stakeholders together to negotiate bilateral forward contracts.

Market factors, including increased costs for natural gas and NOx credits, increased demand, scarce resources and unusually high temperatures throughout the West, coupled with flawed market design and regulatory policies, and possibly some exercise of market power were responsible for the high power prices in California this past summer, according to the FERC staff report on bulk power markets released last week.

Market factors, including increased costs for natural gas andNOx credits, increased demand, scarce resources and unusually hightemperatures throughout the West, coupled with flawed market designand regulatory policies, and possibly some exercise of market powerwere responsible for the high power prices in California this pastsummer, according to the FERC staff report on bulk power marketsreleased yesterday.