Leading

Western legislators will be leading off one offensive of the newadministration’s energy strategy March 7, with a U.S. HouseResources Committee hearing on restrictions on exploration and gasdevelopment on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)and their impact on power markets.

Western legislators will be leading off one offensive of the newadministration’s energy strategy March 7, with a U.S. HouseResources Committee hearing that explores restrictions on gasdevelopment on public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)and their impact on power markets.

Enron Energy Services and Owens-Illinois, Inc., a leadingproducer of glass and plastics packaging, have announced a 10-yearenergy management agreement covering 53 Owens-Illinois (O-I)manufacturing facilities in 20 states and energy purchases inexcess of $2 billion.

Georgia’s leading natural gas marketer, Georgia Natural Gas Co.,has been back-billing “several thousand” customers for charges thatdate back as far as a year, according to officials with the GeorgiaPublic Service Commission. That news comes as the PSC deferredconsideration until Nov. 20 of proposed new rules which wouldrequire marketers to provide efficient billing to customers.

Georgia’s leading natural gas marketer, Georgia Natural Gas Co.,has been back-billing “several thousand” customers for charges thatdate back as far as a year, according to officials with the GeorgiaPublic Service Commission. That news comes as the PSC deferredconsideration of proposed new rules over billing by marketers untilNov. 20, which would require marketers to provide efficient billingto customers.

One of the world’s leading independent power plantdeveloper/operators, Arlington, VA-based AES Corp., announced thisweek that it will try to re-power two old units among its coastalmix of California power plants under the state’s newly createdfast-track power plant siting process. The goal is to have an added450 MW of baseload capacity available next summer.

The North American natural gas market’s success is in the handsof the independents, and some of the leaders — private companiesnot driven by the need for outside investment — will be names notwidely recognized.

Illinois Power, now a subsidiary of leading marketer DynegyCorp., is changing its game plan, telling regulators it wants todrop out of the more conservative Midwest Independent SystemOperator (MISO) to join the Alliance Regional Transmission Operator(Alliance RTO).

IntercontinentalExchange, founded earlier this year by leadingU.S. and European financial institutions and energy and naturalresource firms, has chosen IXnet, a Global Crossing, Ltd. company,to fully manage its global transaction network. IXnet is thedeveloper of an intelligent, high-performance global Extranetdesigned principally for the financial services community.IntercontinentalExchange is scheduled to begin trading preciousmetals in August, with OTC energy products, including natural gas,slated for Q4. The exchange’s partners include American ElectricPower, Aquila Energy, BP Amoco, Deutsche Bank AG, Duke Energy, ElPaso Energy, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, ReliantEnergy, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, SG Investment Banking, SouthernCompany Energy Marketing, Totalfina Elf, and Continental PowerExchange