Idea

Power industry officials last Tuesday refuted the idea that the sector has lost sight of the importance of maintaining a reliable flow of power across the nation’s electrical grid as the calendar rapidly closes in on the one-year anniversary of the Aug. 14, 2003 blackout that turned off the lights on millions of customers in Canada and the U.S.

The local outpouring of about 900 citizens, two-thirds of which opposed the idea of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal, prompted San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. last Wednesday to drop its plans for studying the feasibility of a LNG import terminal and other facilities in the far northern end of California in Humboldt Bay.

The idea that Ohio Edison didn’t have fair warning on how to accurately interpret “routine maintenance” under the Clean Air Act prior to its implementing a series of modifications to a coal-fired power plant located in Ohio was firmly rejected by a U.S. District Court judge in a ruling issued last Thursday.

eNymex, as originally conceived is dead, but the idea of providing over-the-counter (OTC) energy products lives on through Nymex Access, a spokeswoman for the New York Mercantile Exchange said Monday in an interview with NGI.

El Paso Natural Gas said it plans to test the market again for a proposed 700 MMcf/d bi-directional lateral between Ehrenberg, AZ, Daggett, CA, and Emidio, CA. An open season for the lateral, which will use portions of the All American Pipeline El Paso purchased last year, will close on Feb. 28. El Paso expects the lateral facilities could be in service by the fourth quarter of 2003.

A Houston-based source characterized the situation: “People just have no idea where this market is going to settle.” That was telling it like it is Friday, as the July aftermarket began substantially below first-of-month indexes and even further removed from end-of-June pricing.

There are still no takers in a plan to unbundle Colorado’s gas utilities, but at least two utilities may be warming to the idea. A meeting in mid-July of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to discuss natural gas local distribution company unbundling, gas utility plans and consumer issues concluded with only two companies — the largest ones serving the state — reporting that they might provide unbundling programs. Just not now.

There are still no takers in a plan to unbundle Colorado’s gasutilities, but at least two utilities may be warming to the idea. Ameeting last week of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC)to discuss natural gas local distribution company unbundling, gasutility plans and consumer issues concluded with only two companies— the largest ones serving the state — reporting that theymight provide unbundling programs. Just not now.

Initial reaction to the idea of consolidating the majorWashington D.C.-based energy trade groups under one umbrella seemsto be running from cold to warm, with some outright opposed to itand others at least willing to discuss it.