Joined

Merchant natural gas storage operators have joined their counterpart power plant operators in the crosshair of the California Public Utilities Commission, based on remarks Monday at a Canadian energy conference by the CPUC’s president, Loretta Lynch. State regulators likely will be examining the market power and wholesale price manipulation issues related to gas storage next year, she told an industry gathering in Calgary, as part of a broader reregulation effort.

Merchant natural gas storage operators have joined their counterpart power plant operators in the crosshair of the California Public Utilities Commission, based on remarks Monday at a Canadian energy conference by the CPUC’s president, Loretta Lynch. State regulators likely will be examining the market power and wholesale price manipulation issues related to gas storage next year, she told an industry gathering in Calgary, as part of a broader reregulation effort.

El Paso Corp. and Duke Energy late last week joined the ranks of energy companies receiving subpoenas from federal authorities seeking information on questionable trading activities. Both companies received subpoenas from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston regarding a grand jury investigation, and Duke Energy was handed a subpoena by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as well.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services joined other top ratings agencies in cutting Mirant’s credit rating to junk on Monday, citing a heavy debt burden, declining cash position and a growing dependence on asset sales to maintain liquidity.

Dominion announced Monday the retirement of Edgar M. Roach, Jr. as president and CEO of Dominion Delivery, effective Dec. 1. Roach will be succeeded by Admiral Jay L. Johnson, who joined Dominion two years ago as senior vice president-business excellence when he retired as the United States Chief of Naval Operations. The company also announced the retirement of James P. O’Hanlon as president and COO of Dominion Energy, also effective Dec. 1. O’Hanlon’s responsibilities will be assumed and divided between two Dominion senior vice presidents, Paul D. Koonce and Mark E. McGettrick. Dominion said Roach and O’Hanlon will remain active as company employees until Feb. 1 to ensure a smooth transition. Koonce and McGettrick will report to Thomas F. Farrell, CEO of Dominion Energy. Koonce will become CEO-transmission at Dominion Energy, where he will continue to oversee the company’s energy trading and will add responsibility for natural gas and electric transmission management. Gary L. Sypolt, now president of the Dominion Transmission natural gas pipeline, will add electric transmission to his responsibilities and become president of Dominion’s electric and natural gas transmission unit. Kevin T. Howell will remain president of Dominion Energy Clearinghouse. Both will report to Koonce. Dominion said McGettrick will be Dominion Energy’s president and CEO-generation and relinquish his position as president of Dominion Resources Services. He will be replaced by Mary C. Doswell, who is now vice president-billing & credit in Dominion Delivery.

Former Seagull Energy Corp. Chairman and CEO Barry J. Galt has joined Dynegy’s board of directors. “Barry’s proven leadership and experience in the energy industry and his reputation for integrity further strengthens the board during these challenging times in our business sector,” according to Otis Winters, lead director and chairman of the Governance and Nominating Committee. Galt will be named to the board’s Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. Galt led was Seagull Energy (now Ocean Energy Inc.) from 1983 to 1998.and currently is a director of Ocean. Prior to joining Seagull, he was president and COO of The Williams Companies. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma Law School and the University of Oklahoma with a degree in accounting, Mr. Galt also serves on the boards of Friede Goldman Halter Inc., StanCorp Financial Group Inc. and Trinity Industries Inc. Dynegy’s board of directors now numbers 12, including two members representing ChevronTexaco, which will nominate a new director in the near future to replace Glenn Tilton, who resigned as interim chairman of Dynegy on Sept. 2 to become chairman of UAL Corp.

Cinergy Corp. said that it has joined in the formation of an energy industry committee made up of chief risk officers who will identify best practices in risk management. Companies participating in the Committee of CROs, which was formed late last month, said the organization was made necessary by the rapid growth and increasing financial pressures in the merchant energy industry in the United States (see NGI, June 3).

Energy stock prices joined the rising tide on the stock market Monday, with Mirant, Calpine and Dynegy leading the wave with gains of more than 11% for Mirant and close to 9% for Calpine and Mirant. Also having a good day were Williams, Reliant and AES, all up by more than 3%. Other energy suppliers saw rises up to 3%. The only group still recording more losers than winners were natural gas utilities. The stock prices of energy companies have been battered in recent months by low energy prices and the Enron implosion. No one yet is calling it a turnaround point, but there was one positive indicator: Monday was the first day in a looooong time that Enron wasn’t on the front page of The Houston Chronicle or The Washington Post.

London-based BP Plc, considered the third largest energy company in the world, joined its peers in reporting a third quarter profit slide, the first in more than two years, with earnings down 20% because of the decline in oil and gas prices. The global giant said it also does not expect to see high returns into the fourth quarter. Earnings were $3.05 billion, or 14 cents a share, down from $3.08 billion, or 17 cents a share for the same period in 2000. BP measures its earnings on a replacement cost basis, which excludes one-time items and goodwill costs.