Operations

Atlanta-based Southern Co. said Friday it closed on a deal to buy the Georgia customers, operations and gas inventory of Enron-affiliated NewPower Holdings Inc. for an estimated $60 million (see Daily GPI, June 13).

Atlanta-based Southern Co. said Friday it closed on a deal to buy the Georgia customers, operations and gas inventory of Enron-affiliated NewPower Holdings Inc. for an estimated $60 million (see Daily GPI, June 13).

UtiliCorp United announced last week that it changed its corporate name to Aquila Inc., the energy trading and risk management subsidiary in which it sold an interest to the public in 2001 and then later re-acquired. The company’s common stock now trades on the New York, Pacific and Toronto stock exchanges under the symbol ILA, which has replaced the UtiliCorp symbol UCU.

Calgary-based independent PanCanadian Energy Corp. has amalgamated its operations with PanCanadian Petroleum Ltd. and will be known under the PanCanadian Energy name from now on. The amalgamation was previously announced when PanCanadian Petroleum completed its spin off from parent Canadian Pacific Ltd. last fall (see Daily GPI, Nov. 7, 2001). PanCanadian Energy Corp. is now the parent company of all existing subsidiaries and the major partner in partnerships. Included in the amalgamation are some non-Canadian subsidiaries, which also have merged or changed names, including U.S. holdings, the Montana Power Gas Co. and Xeno Inc., which merged Jan. 1 into North American Resources Co., and at the same time, took the name PanCanadian Energy Resources Inc. UK subsidiary PanCanadian Petroleum (UK) also is changing its name to PanCanadian Energy (UK) Ltd.

Trunkline warned Friday evening that based on system operations and continuing weather conditions, it no longer could absorb excess receipts upstream of Centerville in the East Louisiana pool. It issued a critical system warning for the pool that remains in effect until further notice. If the excess receipts continue, an OFO with 2% tolerance and $25/Dth penalties may become necessary, Trunkline said.

Pursuing a strategy to expand non-utility energy infrastructure businesses alongside its core utility operations in the Pacific Northwest, Bellevue, WA-based Puget Energy announced that it has bought Skibeck Pipeline Co., which it described as a “leading East Coast provider of natural gas transmission pipeline construction.” Skibeck will retain its name and 200 employees, operating regionally out of its headquarters in Randolph, NY, under Puget’s non-utility division, InfrastruX.

Yankee Gas Services Co. said it has decided that its Waterbury, CT, operations center is the preferred site for construction of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and production facility. Part of the Northeast Utilities (NU) system, Yankee said it is proposing to build a state-of-the-art LNG plant to ensure a secure and reliable supply of natural gas to meet the growing energy demands of current and future customers throughout Connecticut.

Yankee Gas Services Co. said it has decided that its Waterbury, CT, operations center is the preferred site for construction of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and production facility. Part of the Northeast Utilities (NU) system, Yankee said it is proposing to build a state-of-the-art LNG plant to ensure a secure and reliable supply of natural gas to meet the growing energy demands of current and future customers throughout Connecticut.

Plummeting gas prices have prompted a large number of idled ammonia producers to restart operations this month, after lengthy downtime due to last winter’s record gas price increases. Houston-based Industrialinfo.com, which tracks manufacturing, said most of the Gulf Coast and Midcontinent plants are at partial or full capacity.