Looks

California looks to spend another $100 million in 2010-2011 under a mandate from a 2007 state law (AB 118) to help reduce gasoline-powered transportation in favor of renewables and alternatives such as natural gas-powered transportation. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has formally begun the process of writing a 2010-11 investment plan for the state’s Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program.

January natural gas futures inched higher Tuesday as traders saw a market that looks to have put in a bottom but was unable to shrug off a faltering oil market. January rose 1.3 cents to $5.579, and February gained 2 cents to $5.632. January crude oil fell $1.64 to $42.07/bbl.

Hurricane Ike now looks as if it will miss the major energy infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), but most of the offshore installations, shuttered when Hurricane Gustav arrived, are expected to remain shut in until the latest storm passes. Meanwhile, forecasters were recommending that the Texas Gulf Coast prepare for Ike, which moved into the GOM Tuesday, moving west toward an expected landfall Friday or Saturday.

California’s wholesale electricity situation looks good for this summer’s peak-demand periods, but in the longer term the state’s aggressive push to get more renewable resource-based power continues to worry the head of the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), Yakout Mansour. The CAISO CEO held a conference call with reporters last Monday to mark the release of the grid operator’s annual market performance report, a newly approved five-year strategy and CAISO’s 10th anniversary of operations.

After being a point of focus on the Capitol Hill agenda for most of 2007, climate change legislation looks like it will continue to be a top priority in both the U.S. House and Senate during 2008, according to speakers at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) annual Winter Committee Meetings in Washington, DC, last Tuesday.

After being a point of focus on the Capitol Hill agenda for most of 2007, climate change legislation looks like it will continue to be a top priority in both the U.S. House and Senate during 2008, according to speakers at the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) annual Winter Committee Meetings in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.

The level of natural gas supply looks “very good” going into the 2007-2008 heating season and current gas prices are relatively low compared to earlier this year, which bodes well for consumers, the American Gas Association (AGA) said Monday.

The North American gas transmission and distribution (T&D) industry looks healthy for the rest of this year and into 2008, but the credit crunch threatens to slow down capital spending and the acquisition market, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Even with the recent weakening in natural gas prices, the North American gas transmission and distribution (T&D) industry looks healthy for the rest of this year and into 2008; however, the credit crunch could slow down capital spending and the acquisition market, according to Moody’s Investors Service.