Great

There is “great upside” for finding new natural gas supplies offshore of Canada’s East Coast — and at a reasonable cost, the National Energy Board has been assured. An assessment commissioned by Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline found that even the early, high-risk phase of operating offshore of Nova Scotia has shown that the cost of tapping the region is well under current gas prices.

Cash prices continued to soften as expected Friday, but except for still-plunging Northeast citygates it was hardly the market “collapse” that more than one source had thought possible the day before. Outside the Northeast, nearly all the declines were between about a dime and 15 cents.

Snow and cold temperatures in the Great Lakes and the Northeastyesterday and some follow-through buying on Friday’s strength sentgas futures to a new all-time high of $6.360/MMBtu. December endedthe session up 14.9 cents to $6.249/MMBtu.

A U.S. House Commerce Subcommittee set the stage Monday in SanDiego for a continuation of California’s “great electricitydebate,” and the actors all showed up to deliver their linespredictably from the often-conflicting perspectives of consumers,generators, state regulators, energy officials and federalregulators. With two San Diego-based members of the subcommitteeamong the Congressional lawmakers attending, all sides got in theirtwo-cents worth, and are expected to do the same today when theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission holds its hearing on San Diegoelectricity price spikes.

To borrow a little from Shakespeare, the Summer of 2000 in SanDiego has been the season of consumers’ extreme discontent.Consumers burn their bills in protest, others just are burning.State officials, led by Gov. Gray Davis, claim profit-hungrynon-utility power plant owners have taken advantage of severesupply shortages to gouge consumers. But what’s the real story?

To borrow a little from Shakespeare, the Summer of 2000 in SanDiego has been the season of consumers’ extreme discontent.Consumers burn their bills in protest, others just are burning.State officials, led by Gov. Gray Davis, claim profit-hungrynon-utility power plant owners have taken advantage of severesupply shortages to gouge consumers. But what’s the real story?

Cash prices were already headed downward Monday in the greatmajority of cases, but that’s nothing like the beating they’reexpected to take today after futures went into a free-fall, losingmore than 40 cents in the July contract.

In the immortal words of baseball great Yogi Berra: “It’s déjàvu all over again!” A week after a smaller-than-expected storageinjection sent gas futures soaring by about a quarter, theoccurrence was repeated Wednesday afternoon. And just as thatprompted cash numbers to do their own skyrocket act last Thursday,so did sources predict similar fireworks in this morning’s action.

Great Lakes is holding an open season through July 31 for thesale of firm service from Emerson to Carlton in seven packagessubject to Right of First Refusal provisions of the pipeline’stariff (that is, each existing shipper can match the highest bidfor the capacity and retain it). Up to 70,927 Dth/d of capacitystarting Nov. 1, 2002 is available. Call a marketing representativeat (888) 275-3611 for more information.