Often

Pipeline constraints and balancing requirements/penalties had something to do with the record high gas prices this winter in the Northeast, but energy consultant Ben Schlesinger also believes inadequate gas market information, particularly regarding peak shaving liquefied natural gas (LNG) capacity, was part of the cause.

Exhibiting a symmetry not often seen in the hectic world of natural gas futures trading, prices spiraled lower Thursday on bearish storage data, exactly retracing the gains seen following last Thursday’s bullish storage report. Last Thursday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a lower-than-expected 74 Bcf injection and this week the EIA reported a greater-than-expected 82 Bcf refill. In both instances, the price reaction was immediate and substantial. On Aug. 7 the market leaped 33.7 cents higher, while Thursday the market dropped 28.8 cents to close at $4.891.

As has often been the case on Thursdays this summer, natural gas futures prices tumbled lower on the news that the market had injected another hefty volume of gas (83 Bcf) into underground storage facilities. The August contract was hardest hit by the sell-off as it fell to a new seven-month prompt contract low at $4.66. A small rebound was seen near the close, leaving the contract to finish the session at $4.731, down 14.5 cents for the day and nearly two dollars off its high from early last month.

California’s often-criticized regulatory commission will strive to take a more “balanced approach” in weighing consumer, utility and economic interests, according to Michael Peevey, the former utility senior executive who was named New Year’s eve to a six-year commission term and as president of the five-member California Public Utilities Commission.

In what was often characterized as a quiet trading day, prices were flat to mildly higher Tuesday in the East and moderately softer at most western points. Gains were capped at 5-6 cents, while Rockies and San Juan Basin declines of about a dime topped the losses.

California’s often-fragmented five-member regulatory commission Thursday approved an extension of Southern California Gas Co.’s six-year-old gas-purchase incentive program, including slashing by more than two-thirds the amount of incentives due to shareholders through the programs recent successes in lower overall supply costs. However, it made the unanimous (5-0) vote only after a split 3-2 vote defeated a preferred option by the panel’s chief regulator.

Demonstrating a newfound consensus often absent over the past 12-15 months, California’s regulatory commission last week unanimously approved a half-dozen energy items on its regular business meeting agenda, including added debt authority for Las Vegas-based Southwest Gas Corp. and a new statewide hearing process looking at the potential rate impact of the two alternative reorganization plans in Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy case.

What several sources believe may be an extended period of slow, often featureless and softer cash trading was launched Tuesday with all points on the same falling price page. Trends were more consistent across the entire market, with a large majority of points registering declines from a little less than a dime to about 15 cents. More modest drops tended to occur in non-Permian Basin western markets, while larger losses were recorded in the Northeast.

After listening to weeks of confusing and often mind-numbing testimony, FERC Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis Wagner Jr. tossed parties a curve last week when he “strongly encourage[d]” them to reach a money settlement in the high-profile dispute in which El Paso Corp. affiliates are accused of engaging in illegal activity to inflate prices for natural gas in the California market.