Looks

The transmission and generation parts of vertically integrated rural electric cooperatives are enjoying strong credit ratings in the midst of the more turbulent private-sector electricity industry with its political and financial crunch. And proposed farm legislation in Congress eventually could strengthen the rural utilities’ financial positions as they enter somewhat of a generation building boom era, according to Standard & Poor’s latest analysis out of its energy finance team in New York.

Even in the midst of a credit/credibility crunch that has shrunk its stock price and slowed its aggressive development program, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. is looking to expand its natural gas operations, including a lusting eye toward the coal-bed methane industry in the heartland of the U.S. During an interview with NGI Tuesday, Calpine’s chief gas executive said he expects prices to trend upward as new supplies get tighter.

The power industry should look to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, not Congress, to accomplish the restructuring of the electric power market, Dynegy Chairman Chuck Watson told a Washington audience Thursday. “FERC knows how to get things done.”

Reliant Resources is doing well in the opening innings of retail electric choice in the ERCOT market and looks to growing retail sales to provide a natural hedge to its wholesale market operations, Chairman Steve Letbetter told stockholders in making a delayed announcement Friday of very positive fourth quarter and full year 2001 earnings for the Resources group and parent Reliant Energy.

Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) is seeking public input on new approaches to dispute resolution. The objective is to develop effective options for preventing and managing conflict as an addition to NEB’s current regulatory approach.

Astrology could have the answer for why gas prices rose to $3 this week. At least it looks like Virgo called it right today. Virgo says “lie low, play the waiting game, focus on power.” Gas prices fell sharply after the storage report was released at 2 p.m. by the American Gas Association (AGA). Maybe the astrologers are on to something.

CornerStone Propane Partners LP is waiting for a buyer and several have expressed interest, but the company also is formulating a fall-back plan in case a sale or merger doesn’t materialize. The company said last week that it has shut down its wholesale natural gas marketing operations, which were conducted by Coast Energy Group (CEG).

CornerStone Propane Partners LP said a significant number of parties have expressed interest in buying or merging with the company, but it is formulating a parallel plan in the event a sale or merger is not realized to manage its debt obligations. The company said it shut down its wholesale natural gas marketing operations, which were conducted by Coast Energy Group (CEG). It reported a quarterly loss of $9.7 million or 40 cents per unit compared with net income of $11.6 million or 48 cents per unit in the same quarter in 2000.

On a day in which market power issues took center stage at FERC headquarters, the Commission last Tuesday proposed revising all existing market-based rate tariffs and authorizations in order to prohibit anti-competitive behavior or the exercise of market power. In addition, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also instituted a proceeding to establish a refund effective date should it find that electric power rates are unjust and unreasonable.