Maintains

Williams maintains a “more conservative” trading philosophy than many of its peers, Chairman Keith E. Bailey told analysts Monday, saying short term volatility in spark spreads and commodity prices have had much less impact on results since the company tends toward longer, structured transactions and is “much more fully hedged” than most.

Aquila Inc. is maintaining its previously set 25% growth target for the year despite the downturn in energy stocks and the continuing regulatory and legislative tirade against western power generators and marketers. By remaining geographically diverse across the United States, Aquila executives said they effectively eliminate concentration risk.

Aquila Inc. is maintaining its previously set 25% growth target for the year despite the downturn in energy stocks and the continuing regulatory and legislative tirade against western power generators and marketers. By remaining geographically diverse across the United States, Aquila executives said they effectively eliminate concentration risk.

Calpine Corp., the San Jose, CA-based merchant power plantdeveloper, maintains a voracious appetite for natural gas that itexpects to reach 6 to 7 Bcf/d in the next five years, but it isunfazed by the current price spike and supply tightness headinginto winter. A diversified portfolio approach that aims for up to aquarter of its supplies coming from its own reserves makes Calpineofficials shrug off worries about future gas markets.

In the latest of a string of bullish reports for the gasindustry, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-TermEnergy Outlook projected prices in the coming months to be 25% to30% higher than last winter. It also said that demand, which theEIA said rose by less than 1% in 1999 compared to 1998, is poisedto grow 4.6% in 2000. The demand jump, which puts the consumptionlevel at 22.4 Tcf, represents an increase of 1 Tcf over 1999’sconsumption levels.

In its latest attack on the competing Guardian Pipeline project,Coastal Corp. affiliate American Natural Resources (ANR) maintainsdata from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission show Guardian’stransportation rate would be more than 30% higher than the rateoffered by ANR.

While the Gas Research Institute maintains the most likelyfuture for natural gas includes low prices and a 31 Tcf market by2015, it is hedging its bets with a new study examining the outcomeif not all the expected pieces fall into place.

While the Gas Research Institute maintains the most likelyfuture for natural gas includes low prices and a 31 Tcf market by2015, it is hedging its bets with a new study examining the outcomeif not all the expected pieces fall into place.