Leaves

Uncertainty surrounding a long-term contract with bankrupt Calpine Corp. and a pending rate case leaves Kern River Gas Transmission Co. with a question about its future credit outlook, albeit with a current relatively high “A-” rating and the ultimate backing of its parent company, Berkshire Hathaway’s utility unit, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., according to Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services. S&P Monday affirmed the “A-” rating on senior secured debt of Kern River’s funding arm, Kern River Funding Corp, Salt Lake City.

As leaves begin turning colors and temperatures start dropping, utilities across the country have been warning their customers that higher heating costs are in store this winter. Joining the ranks Wednesday, PECO said it will raise its natural gas rate by a “significant” amount on Dec. 1 to reflect the sharply higher cost of buying gas in the wholesale market in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico.

Before he was officially replaced Tuesday by one of the three members from the state public utilities commission, Nevada’s lame duck Consumer Advocate Tim Hay fired a legal broadside against Reliant Energy and some of its affiliates, alleging they conspired with now bankrupt Enron Corp. to drive up wholesale power and natural gas costs in Nevada and California during the infamous 2000-2001 energy market meltdown.

While coming in well within industry projections, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) natural gas storage report for the week ended Dec. 24 slashed the running surplus compared to last year’s level as well as the five-year average. The EIA reported that 178 Bcf was pulled from underground storage for the week.

Retiring U.S. Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-LA, will become president and CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in Washington DC when he leaves the Congress at the end of the year. The 61-year old Tauzin served for several years as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee before stepping down early this year because of intestinal cancer. He announced at the time he would not seek reelection after serving 13 terms in the House. He has credited the advanced, expert medical treatment and surgery he received at Johns Hopkins with saving his life. His son, Billy Tauzin III, lost a runoff earlier this month to Democrat Charlie Melancon to succeed to the elder Tauzin’s the 3rd Congressional District seat.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in an order approved last Thursday noted steady improvement and increased confidence in published price indices, listing 10 publishers that meet its criteria for reliability and whose indices may be reliably used as part of Commission-approved tariffs. FERC also closed the dockets on 13 tariffs containing formulas based on published indices, leaving those in place, but stating that in any new tariffs the specific index points used would have to meet its liquidity requirements.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in an order approved Thursday noted steady improvement and increased confidence in published price indices, listing 10 publishers that meet its criteria for reliability and whose indices may be reliably used as part of Commission-approved tariffs. FERC also closed the dockets on 13 tariffs containing formulas based on published indices, leaving those in place, but stating that in any new tariffs the specific index points used would have to meet its liquidity requirements.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in an order approved Thursday noted steady improvement and increased confidence in published price indices, listing 10 publishers that meet its criteria for reliability and whose indices may be reliably used as part of Commission-approved tariffs. FERC also closed the dockets on 13 tariffs containing formulas based on published indices, leaving those in place, but stating that in any new tariffs the specific index points used would have to meet its liquidity requirements.

Coming in below most industry estimates, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) bullish natural gas storage report Thursday morning kick-started the sputtering August natural gas futures contract. Sparked by the first bullish report in many weeks, the prompt month rallied to close at $6.152, up 22.1 cents on the day. The rally saw heavy volume as 103,180 contracts changed hands.