Lost

Hurricane Bill is strengthening in the Atlantic and could give the coast of New England a glancing blow this weekend, while Ana, which has lost much of its power since Monday, could still reform in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

Protesters who tried to halt sour-gas production in northern British Columbia (BC) by planting bombs at four industry sites have lost their war. Development of the hazardous natural gas reserves, laced with lethal hydrogen-sulphide, will continue and possibly expand under a ruling handed down March 26 by Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB).

Protesters who tried to halt sour-gas production in northern British Columbia (BC) by planting bombs at four industry sites have lost their war. Development of the hazardous natural gas reserves, laced with lethal hydrogen-sulphide, will continue and possibly expand under a ruling handed down March 26 by Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB).

When all looked lost for Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. came to the rescue with a merger proposal and capital infusion; however, Wednesday the American business icon stepped aside to make way for the French. Constellation accepted Electricite de France subsidiary EDF Development Inc.’s offer to acquire a 49.99% interest in Constellation Energy Nuclear Group LLC for $4.5 billion, ending MidAmerican’s plans to acquire all of Constellation.

When all looked lost for Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Group, billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. came to the rescue with a merger proposal and capital infusion; however, last Wednesday the American business icon stepped aside to make way for the French.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) suffered a stinging setback Wednesday when he narrowly lost a vote in the Democratic Steering Committee to challenger Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) for the gavel of the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) extended Saturday’s high-linepack OFO through Sunday, then ended it Monday. SoCalGas also reported Saturday that it lost 410 MMcf/d of injection capacity when the blowdown relief stack for the main station at its Aliso Canyon storage facility was hit by lightning and caught on fire. The giant LDC said Sunday the fire had been extinguished, and Aliso Canyon personnel would be inspecting the stack for damages and system integrity Monday. It had managed to restore 100 MMcf/d of injection capacity but said full volumes would not be available until the stack is back in service. In order to maximize injection capacity, SoCalGas postponed planned maintenance at its Honor Rancho storage field.

The Ohio Office of Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) lost its battle to reverse a Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) decision allowing Duke Energy Ohio (DEO) to recover a greater share of its delivery costs through fixed charges and rely less on volumetric charges. The OCC is continuing to fight a similar move by Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio

Up to 60,000 new jobs annually and $55-85 billion in economic activity could be lost if new high-voltage electric transmission lines are not built, according to a report released last Wednesday by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The report was sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Economic Region’s (PNWER) Energy Horizon Project, funded by a U.S. Department of Energy grant. INL recommendations include a call for a study of the region’s natural gas transmission pipeline capacity.