Officials

Top officials in New Brunswick and Quebec said recently thatthey are near an agreement that would pave the way for theconstruction of a pipeline between the two provinces. New BrunswickPremier Bernard Lord and Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard both saidthey plan to sign the agreement Feb. 28.

Despite continuing setbacks with Texas properties, PG&ECorp. officials last week expressed continued support for theirnational energy strategy, which when broken down is a largelyelectricity-based with key gas assets to enhance power assetvalues.

Despite continuing setbacks with Texas properties, PG&ECorp. officials this week expressed continued support for theirnational energy strategy, which when broken down is a largelyelectricity-based with key gas assets to enhance power assetvalues.

A host of Wisconsin businesses, labor unions and state and localgovernment officials have rallied behind the proposed GuardianPipeline as their last, best hope of injecting natural gascompetition into the state. The coalition, which includes GovernorTommy Thompson, said the proposed 147-mile, $230 million interstatepipeline can create competition with ANR Pipeline, resulting inlower energy prices for consumers and increased reliability.

As the list of planned new natural gas-fired power plants inCalifornia lengthens, state officials have begun to survey thedeliverability of resources to fuel those plants.

As the list of planned new natural gas-fired power plants inCalifornia lengthens, state officials have begun to survey thedeliverability of resources to fuel those plants.

MichCon officials announced a successful beginning to its pilotprogram yesterday, with 70,000 of their 75,000 eligible customerschoosing a newly introduced competing supplier in the first year ofa three-year program. Stephen E. Ewing, the president of theMichigan gas utility, said the results prove customer choiceprograms can work for the entire state.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline officials began constructionof the 203-mile mainline that will extend from outside theU.S.-Canada border near Baileyville, ME, to Westbrook, ME.Maritimes and its Canadian affiliate will transport gas from theSable Offshore Energy Project off the coast of Nova Scotia tomarkets in Atlantic Canada and the Northeast U.S. Constructionbegins with the clearing and grading of the right-of-way along thedesignated route followed thereafter by ditching and pipeinstallation. Earlier this year, Maritimes successfully completedthe horizontal directional drill crossings of the Androscoggin andSt. Croix Rivers.

Last year clearly didn’t turn out as most industry officialsexpected, according to a new survey by the Washington InternationalEnergy Group, a Washington, D.C.-based energy consulting firm. Thefirm’s 1999 Energy Industry Outlook notes the retail marketrevolution “wimped out,” mergers were quite a bit larger thanexpected, the oil price glut was more serious than many thought,and power generation became much more important than most initiallybelieved.