Names

TransCanada PipeLines, led by interim CEO Doug Baldwin, unveiled a new organizational structure Friday, aimed at “building greater value for shareholders from its pipeline, power generation, midstream and marketing infrastructure across Canada and the northern tier of the United States.”

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) shuffled its executive organization last week, yet its hunt for a new president continues. The NGSA said it still does not have a timeline for an appointment to the presidency post, but it hopes to get the job filled quickly. Sources indicated, however, the search may take longer than initially anticipated.

The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) shuffled its executiveorganization Tuesday, yet its hunt for a new president continues.The NGSA said it still does not have a timeline for an appointmentto the presidency post, but it hopes to get the job filled quickly.

New U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said two importantitems he would be pursuing in his visits last week to Venezuela andMexico would be the hemispheric integration of energy policy andthe possibility of a common electric grid. He added it is highlysignificant and symbolic that this first official call on foreigngovernments as Energy Department head will be to the two LatinAmerican nations most important to U.S. energy interests.

The current financial stars in the pipeline firmament areColumbia Energy, El Paso Energy and Enron Corp., while distributorsto watch are AGL Resources, MarketSpan, Peoples Energy and UGICorp., according to Curt Launer, vice president of Donaldson,Lufkin &amp Jenrette. Prospects are good for the companies named,although a biannual report by the New York investment house showsthe overall interstate gas pipeline group “has not been doing verywell” so far in 1998, with stock prices significantlyunderperforming the Standard &amp Poor’s 500 Index.

Columbia Energy Group moved into the group of Donaldson, Lufkin& Jenrette’s “top picks” for natural gas investors in thefirm’s latest Natural Gas Outlook 1999-2003. The report is thebiannual update of the firm’s analyses and recommendations in thegas industry.

The fate of open access for natural gas and electricityregulation in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may be largelydecided this week if, as rumored, Gov. Tom Ridge names areplacement for trail-blazing Public Utilities Commissioner JohnHanger.