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The Department of Energy (DOE) is putting the finishing touches on a national transmission grid study that, among other things, recognizes improved regional planning as a tool for removing transmission bottlenecks, Vicky Bailey, assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs at the DOE, told a gathering of electric utility executives last Wednesday at a transmission summit in Washington, DC.

After a long review of the bankruptcy of retail marketer Iroquois Energy Management in 2000, New York energy regulators have approved new financial requirements for retail gas and power marketers who offer prepayment plans or require deposits from customers. The requirements are designed to strengthen consumer protections in New York’s competitive energy markets.

While many other producing regions are struggling just to maintain production levels, the Rocky Mountain region continues to see incremental growth, prompting gathering and processing expansions last week by Williams and Duke. Williams completed a $45 million gathering and processing system upgrade in Wamsutter, WY, that will boost processing capacity by 140 MMcf/d and add 70 MMcf/d of gathering. Meanwhile, Duke Energy Field Services completed its third expansion in the Denver-Julesburg (D-J) Basin, adding a new 33 MMcf/d processing plant northeast of Denver.

With the exception of plunging Northeast citygates, softness was rather mild Thursday in other regions. Nearly all non-Northeast points ranged from essentially flat to down less than a dime. But several sources saw signs of much greater price weakness to come in today’s trading for the weekend.

In order to force a vote on energy this year, Sen Frank Murkowski (R-AK) said he and other Republican proponents will attempt to attach the House energy bill, H.R. 4, to either the economic-stimulus, railroad retirement or farm reauthorization bills that are due to come before the Senate in the remaining days of the session.

Dominion East Ohio said on Wednesday that almost half of its customers have chosen other suppliers. Company officials said 583,997 (49%) of its 1.2 million customers have opted to purchase natural gas from alternative suppliers, realizing $86 million in savings in the first year of the system-wide Energy Choice program expansion.

Northern Border Partners LP showed a 43% increase in third quarter net income to $29.1 million or $0.65 per unit after several pipeline and processing acquisitions this year, including Midwestern Gas Transmission and gathering assets in the Powder River Basin. Cash flow increased 23% to $82.1 million.

Northern Border Partners LP showed a 43% increase in third quarter net income to $29.1 million or $0.65 per unit after several pipeline and processing acquisitions this year, including Midwestern Gas Transmission and gathering assets in the Powder River Basin. Cash flow increased 23% to $82.1 million.

While a number of the leading power utility stocks gained between 1% and 3% in an overall market that was down slightly Tuesday, the second day of trading following the terrorist attacks a week ago, traders and independent power producers and independent natural gas producers and pipelines did not fare as well.