Munis

Houston-based Texas Municipal Gas Corp. (TMGC) has purchased $266 million of West Texas mineral interests from Dominion Exploration & Production, which would give it 66 Bcf for the next four years. The assets currently produce more than 200 MMcf/d.

Through a new partnership with Alliant Energy IndustrialServices, the Piedmont Municipal Power Agency, representing 10municipal utilities in South Carolina, has taken its next step toprepare its members and customers for a competitive electricmarketplace.

A government-run transmission grid is one of the ideas that willbe proposed this week by California’s statewide association of 30government-run utilities in response to the summer electricityprice and supply woes. The municipal utilities account for about25% of the state’s electricity.

Just as the Department of Energy (DOE) reacted to public outcryover high oil and gasoline prices, Energy Secretary Bill Richardsonand FERC need to find out why wholesale natural gas prices havesoared to more than $4 since the start of the year and preparecustomers for possibly higher gas bills next winter, a majormunicipal gas group said last week.

Unocal Global Trade said it signed a 10-year gas sales agreementto supply 72 Bcf of gas to the Public Energy Authority of KentuckyTrust (PEAK), a Kentucky municipal joint action agency. PEAK hasagreed to make a nonrefundable advance payment of $120 million onJan. 1, 1999 and pay a fixed monthly reservation fee over the lifeof the contract.

A group representing municipal- and government-owned utilitieslast week renewed its call for FERC to impose a moratorium onelectric utility mergers that threaten competition while theindustry is undergoing transition. At a minimum, it proposed thatthe Commission only approve mergers that could show “clearbenefits” that would result from such combinations.