Industrial

Rising temperatures in the Northeast, modest futures strength on the previous Friday and the return of industrial load from its typical weekend downturn caused prices to rise Monday in most of the cash market. But in what is becoming a familiar — but unwanted — week-starting routine for Rockies producers, quotes plunged by double-digit amounts, leaving all points in the region averaging less than a dollar.

As expected, forecasts of moderate weather in most of the East, Pacific Northwest and West Coast along with the extra loss of industrial demand that accompanies a holiday weekend caused prices to range from flat to nearly 35 cents lower at most points Friday. Several scattered gains of up to about C15 cents kept mixed price movement in play as many traders made the customary early holiday-related exits from their offices.

Sempra Energy’s Los Angeles-based Southern California Gas Co. announced Monday it has expanded it business energy efficiency programs, offering individual commercial/industrial (C/I) customers rebates of up to $1.2 million/customer. SoCalGas has 250,000 C/I customers.

As expected, moderating weather trends in northern market areas and the decline of industrial load that occurs over a weekend caused cash prices to drop at nearly all points Friday. But the most recent string of mixed price movement was preserved by gains of up to about 30 cents in the Rockies, where highs in the mid 90s were predicted for Saturday in Denver, Salt Lake City and Cheyenne, WY.

With heating load continuing to dwindle, and the decline of industrial load over a weekend coming into play, prices fell at nearly all points Friday. A few scattered flat to a little more than a nickel higher locations averted a clean sweep of softening.

Dominion Transmission, the pipeline subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., said it has cancelled plans to build the $497 million Greenbrier Pipeline that was intended to serve the industrial and residential gas needs in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, primarily Virginia and North Carolina.

Dominion Transmission, the pipeline subsidiary of Dominion Resources Inc., said it has cancelled plans to build the $497 million Greenbrier Pipeline that would have served the industrial and residential gas needs in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, primarily Virginia and North Carolina.

Thursday’s 51.6-cent futures slide and the weekend loss of industrial load were able to trump frigid weather either continuing or being reestablished over the weekend as the prevailing influences on Friday’s cash market. The result was flat to lower prices at a large majority of points.

There’s no reprieve in sight from gas demand growth from Canadian oil sands operations. An industrial natural gas consumer forecast shows the oil sands continuing to eat into Canadian gas exports to the United States.