Heated

Get ready for another heated debate in the Senate over whether to open up a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas exploration and production. This time, however, Capitol Hill observers believe the odds are in favor of ANWR development.

The stage is set for another heated debate in the Senate over whether to open up a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and natural gas exploration and production. This time, however, Capitol Hill observers believe the odds are in favor of ANWR development.

After years of bickering, protests and heated controversy, Guardian Pipeline has been completed and is scheduled to begin delivering natural gas supplies to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets before mid-December, says a spokesman for CMS Energy, a partner in the pipeline. But there is one glitch.

After years of bickering, protests and heated controversy, Guardian Pipeline has been completed and is scheduled to begin delivering natural gas supplies to northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin markets before mid-December, says a spokesman for CMS Energy, a partner in the pipeline. But there is one glitch.

Natural gas usage levels are continuing a strong growth trend as more and more consumers are using the commodity to heat their homes. Of the single-family homes constructed in 2000, 70% of them featured natural gas heat, according to the 2000 Residential Natural Gas Market Survey released Friday by the American Gas Association (AGA). Electric heat captured 27%, followed by heating oil at 3%, the survey found.

Controversy, fueled by increasing political tensions, heated up last week about a group of private sector consultants brought on the state payroll by Gov. Gray Davis in the past six months to help California wrestle with its electricity problems, including the state’s role in buying bulk wholesale power.

The legal battle between former merger candidates NortheastUtilities and Consolidated Edison heated up a notch yesterday witha breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by NU against ConEd that seeksdamages of more than $1 billion, including the proposed premium inCon Edison’s $26.70/share purchase offer. NU’s share price hastumbled from the mid-$20 to a 52-week low last week of $18.21.

The battle for a new pipeline to serve Long Island, NY, heatedup this week as two companies announced significant market supportfor both of their projects. Tennessee Gas Pipeline announced thatits Connecticut-Long Island (CT-LI) Lateral Project attractedrequests for 1.6 Bcf/d of firm transportation capacity, while DukeEnergy Gas Transmission said its Islander East pipeline drew 1.2Bcf/d in shipper requests.

The finger-pointing and calls for market intervention — mostnotably centered on electricity price caps —heated up fasterthan the temperatures on both coasts this week, with merchantgenerators and incumbent regulated utilities drawing the ire ofstate and federal policymakers.