Head

President Bush announced yesterday he is setting up aCabinet-level task force that will be led by Vice President RichardCheney to tackle the worsening energy problems facing the nation.

Last week’s yo-yo market pattern continued into the weekend asprices reversed direction once again Friday, falling between 15 and50 cents at nearly all points. California remained the contrarymarket with larger declines at the border and Malin and the day’srare uptick at the PG&E citygate.

Infant online trading system Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) continues to rack up impressive results, posting over 95 Bcf of physical gas trading, along with almost 970 Bcf of financial gas trading and 40 million MWh of power dealing in its first six and a half weeks of commercial operation.

The head of California’s beleaguered utility regulatorycommission (CPUC) Thursday encouraged the state’s major electricutilities to more fully use existing authority to do short-termforward market hedging deals for power, noting that she wanted toclarify continuing perceptions that the state regulatory body isblocking more utility hedging.

The head of California’s beleaguered utility regulatorycommission (CPUC) Thursday encouraged the state’s major electricutilities to more fully use existing authority to do short-termforward market hedging deals for power, noting that she wanted toclarify continuing perceptions that the state regulatory body isblocking more utility hedging.

Infant online trading system Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)continues to rack up impressive results, posting over 95 Bcf ofphysical gas trading, along with almost 970 Bcf of financial gastrading and 40 million MWh of power dealing in its first six and ahalf weeks of commercial operation.

Top energy regulators from Canada, Mexico and the United Stateswill head the list of speakers at the Sixth Annual Meeting of theGas Industry Standards Board (GISB), to be held Sept. 25-26 in SanAntonio. Commissioner Linda Breathitt of the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission, Commissioner Raul Monteforte of Mexico’sComision Reguladora de Energia, and Deborah Emes, member ofCanada’s National Energy Board will deliver key addresses at themeeting, whose theme is “Convergence: Making it Work.” Stan Horton,chairman of the GISB board of directors and CEO of Enron GasPipeline Group; and Jim Buccigross, chairman of GISB’s ExecutiveCommittee, will report on the state of the standards-settingorganization. Other speakers include representatives of the FederalTrade Commission, and public utility commissions in Texas,Kentucky, Illinois, and Ohio.

The head of a Gas Industry Standards Board (GISB) task forcethat’s exploring the feasibility of the organization gettinginvolved in creating standards for retail electric and natural gas,as well as for wholesale power, personally believes a newstandards-setting group should be formed to undertake the task.

The head of a major pipeline trade group wrote a biting letterto BP Amoco CEO Sir John Browne that characterized the Natural GasSupply Association (NGSA) as a dangerous loose cannon whoseinterests are contrary to the rest of the natural gas industry.