Market

Duquesne Light affiliate Duquesne Enterprises and North AmericanPower Brokers are giving Pittsburgh’s retail energy customers a newway to reach up to 50 alternative energy suppliers. With the clickof a mouse button, industrial, commercial and residential customersnow can consummate gas and power transactions. The Internet-basedsystem, called the World Wide Retail Energy Exchange (REX), workssomething like a dating service for the two sides of energyindustry transactions. It also can provide a sponsoring LDC withvaluable back-office information and an advertising opportunity.

Natural Gas Intelligence the weekly gas market newsletter

With a little holiday cheer, the American Gas Association handedout an extremely optimistic 1999 gas consumption forecast last weekas a gift to those whose spirits may be down with gas demand thisChristmas season. The association told those attending its year-endreview conference in Washington, D.C. to expect 5% growth inconsumption in 1999, led by a 13% increase in the residentialsector and a 6.8% jump in the commercial sector. This rosy glow,however, would be fueled by normal weather, something that’s beenin short supply over the past year. Given above normal wintertemperatures next year (10% fewer heating degree days) and severalother negative factors such as $10/bbl oil prices, AGA expects an0.4% drop in gas demand.

The cash market started out this week looking remarkably similarto the way it did last week, but on a reduced scale. Because pricesweren’t digging out from nearly as deep a weekend hole as the oneof Dec. 5-7, Monday’s increases weren’t quite as spectacular asthose from the previous week but were still significantnonetheless.

Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) has sought FERC authorization tobuild a major expansion/extension of its mainline to providenatural gas to meet the growing fuel needs of power utilities inthe state. If approved by the Commission, the project would makegas available to customers in the southwestern part of the statefor the first time.

U.S. energy marketing companies seem to be overlooking asuccessful method of drawing in vast numbers of retail customers.”Affinity” marketing, which involves striking exclusive allianceswith large organizations and companies to offer services to theirmembers and employees, is a marketing method that has proved quitesuccessful in the United Kingdom but largely has been untried inthe U.S., New York-based Datamonitor said in a new study.

The American Gas Association sent out a confusing market signalyesterday, reporting 45 Bcf of withdrawals for the week ending Nov.13 but actually showing more gas in storage than was reported inlast week’s survey. The peculiar changes, the association said,resulted from 58 Bcf increase in the full level of working gas inthe country. The AGA said 20 of the more than 40 storage companiessurveyed reported increases in working gas capacity. The newestimated full level of working gas is 3,248 Bcf, which includes a29 Bcf increase in working gas capacity in the Producing Region, a21 Bcf rise in the Consuming Region East and an 8 Bcf increase inthe Consuming Region West.

Connecticut regulators, bowing to pressure from marketers, havelowered penalty rates and delayed opening of the market for smallindustrials and large commercial customers of state LDCs until Jan.1.

Hurricane hype was helping drive the screen upward Monday, andboth the hype and screen strength contributed to a wide mix of cashprices that ranged from slightly softer to as much as 20cents-plus, sources said.