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Energy powerhouse Enron decided to test its mettle once againMonday, offering British metals trader MG Plc $4.46 per share cashoffer in its bid to enter a new marketplace. The bid values MG at$445 million (300 million pounds sterling).

Once again up against a regulator-imposed deadline, SouthernCalifornia Gas Co. is expected to file today its latest attempt ata final, all-parties settlement in California’s never-ending gasindustry restructuring, which has been dragging on for more thantwo years.

Once again up against a regulator-imposed deadline, SouthernCalifornia Gas on Monday is expected to file its latest attempt ata final, all-parties settlement in California’s never-endingnatural gas industry restructuring, which has been dragging on formore than two years.

Once relegated to auction block status, Kinder Morgan’s MidConTexas Pipeline (MTP) continued its revival last week by renewingits gas sales and transportation contract with Reliant EnergyHL&P through March 1, 2004. Additionally, MTP has entered intoa new transportation services agreement with Reliant EnergyHL&P beginning in 2002 and extending through 2012.

Once relegated to auction block status, Kinder Morgan’s MidConTexas Pipeline (MTP) continued its revival last week by renewingits gas sales and transportation contract with Reliant EnergyHL&P through March 1, 2004. Additionally, MTP has entered intoa new transportation services agreement with Reliant EnergyHL&P beginning in 2002 and extending through 2012.

The somewhat surprising recent firmness of swing prices held uponce again in most cases Friday, refusing to yield to either thenormal drop in weekend demand or a continuing dearth of fundamentalweather support.

Once again all of the “hot” price action Friday occurred in theNortheast, and that’s because it was downright bone-chilling there.This time it was the turn of Algonquin citygates to occupy the toprung of the pricing ladder as they ran up more than $1.00 into the$4.80s and peaked at $6.50. A large aggregator said she later heardintra-day citygates trading as high as $8. She and another sourcesaid Algonquin was curtailing all IT and 50% of Secondary Firmservice downstream of the Cromwell (CT) Compressor Station Fridayand cutting Secondary Firm to zero past Cromwell for Saturday. Thataffected all deliveries to Boston, Rhode Island and the easternhalf of Connecticut, one said.

Once again Friday traders who expected the cash market tosuccumb finally to the negative price pressures that have beenbuilding up were left wondering where its support is coming from.Even though the normal drop in demand associated with a weekendseemed real enough, sources said, quotes were flat to down just atouch in nearly all cases.

Top Washington D.C.-based energy trade associations are listedamong the casualties of Sempra Energy’s and Kinder Morgan Inc.’smove to prune their corporate budgets as they enter the newmillennium.