Inks

Enron Capital and Trade Resources currently is negotiating adeal with a Lincoln, NE-based nonprofit joint power agency to sellit wholesale bulk, multi-year gas supplies so the agency can inturn sell them at below-market prices to municipal utilities inCalifornia and other states. Brokered through the American PublicEnergy Agency (APEA), supplies would be paid-for in advance atdiscounted prices using the APEA tax-exempt financing capability.

Sempra Energy has signed a comprehensive multi-million-dollar,five-year deal with Lockheed Martin Corp. to be its exclusiveenergy provider in 26 eastern states. Lockheed Martin expects tofinalize a similar deal for its western facilities with Enron sometime in March, according to Lockheed Martin energy manager SamJohnson.

Significantly increasing its presence in the Northeast, SempraEnergy’s marketing arm, Sempra Energy Trading, agreed Thursday tomanage the supply and delivery of gas to serve Southern ConnecticutGas Co.’s 158,000 customers. Terms of the one-year agreement werenot disclosed. Sempra will begin April 1.

PP&L, Inc., a subsidiary of Allentown, PA-based PP&LResources, said it expects to sign an agreement to providewholesale electric power marketing, trading and risk-managementservices on a “round- the-clock” basis to Energy New England LLC,an energy cooperative organization formed to provide energy andrelated services to public power entities in New England. ENErepresents about 700 MW of peak load and 850 MW of energy supply.It is the largest wholesale aggregator of public power system loadand generation assets in the New England region.

Houston Industries’ Wholesale Energy Group (HI) continued toentrench itself into the western energy market by agreeing with thecity of Casa Grande, AZ, to build a new 500 MW natural gas-firedpower plant. The plant will cost $263 million, and upon completionHI will arrange for the supply of gas and sell the electricityproduced from the plant.

Demonstrating the growing relationship between marketers andmunicipal gas companies, USX Corp. subsidiary Marathon Oil Co.(Marathon) announced a $52.8 million agreement last week to supplyover 31 Bcf of firm natural gas to the Public Energy Authority ofKentucky (PEAK) for 10 years. Effective Nov. 1, Marathon willprovide gas for PEAK through the Texas Gas Transmission pipelinesystem.

Grass Roots Energy Co., a buyer’s agent for Georgia’sresidential energy consumers looking to switch from Atlanta GasLight Company (AGL), selected Shell Energy Services as the bestvalue in the market, the two companies announced Friday. Shellgained access to the 35,000 Grass Roots customers by beating out 18other marketers competing in the newly deregulated market. Clientswho signed up with Grass Roots by Nov. 4 will start new gas servicewith Shell Dec.1.

Unocal Global Trade said it signed a 10-year gas sales agreementto supply 72 Bcf of gas to the Public Energy Authority of KentuckyTrust (PEAK), a Kentucky municipal joint action agency. PEAK hasagreed to make a nonrefundable advance payment of $120 million onJan. 1, 1999 and pay a fixed monthly reservation fee over the lifeof the contract. The deal with Unocal follows a similar transactionPEAK negotiated with Marathon for supply this winter.

Unocal Global Trade said it signed a 10-year gas sales agreementto supply 72 Bcf of gas to the Public Energy Authority of KentuckyTrust (PEAK), a Kentucky municipal joint action agency. PEAK hasagreed to make a nonrefundable advance payment of $120 million onJan. 1, 1999 and pay a fixed monthly reservation fee over the lifeof the contract.