Others

Online energy trading will reach $3.6 trillion in 2005, fueled primarily by the growth of financial derivatives, according to a new report by Forrester Research. The report predicts several newcomers eventually will catch up to EnronOnline (EOL), the clear e-commerce leader in 2000, but several other independent exchanges could become casualties in the next few years.

As the traditional storage withdrawal season came to an end last week with working gas near record lows at 627 Bcf (19% full) and 404 Bcf lower than the same time last year, there were mixed opinions on Wall Street about what the 2001 refill season might hold. Lehman Brothers and Salomon Smith Barney warned that storage might be refilled at a record rate this year, possibly prompting a bearish reaction in the market in the short-term despite the extremely low level of working gas currently. Meanwhile, UBS Warburg and IFR Pegasus said that scenario was very unlikely.

California regulators and others are seeking a suspension of Williams Energy Marketing & Trading Co.’s authority to charge market-based rates for wholesale power transactions in the western region, claiming that the marketer possesses market power and is flagrantly abusing it.

PG&E Corp. is the latest energy giant to seek a toehold inthe fast-growing Arizona merchant power plant market, gaining aninitial state approval last week, but facing up to a half-dozencounty, state and federal environmental reviews for a proposed $500million, 1,040 MW natural gas-fired plant near Phoenix.

Just when you thought Florida was the place to be this springfor pipeline construction, the ice is melting and activity isstarting to blossom on the Northern frontier -think Alaska andthe Northwest Territories.

Atlanta Gas Light, the distribution utility for more than 1.5million customers in Georgia, said last week that through a ratecase settlement with Southern Natural Gas Pipeline (Sonat) and anew agreement with Transco’s SouthCoast project, its customersstand to save anywhere from $10 million to $32 million annually.

In a bid to complete what others have failed to accomplish, BlueDolphin Gas Storage LLC announced its plans to purchase the AvocaGas Storage facility from Northeastern Gas Caverns LLC last week.With the purchase, Blue Dolphin will become the third owner of thefacility this year. No financial terms of the transaction weredisclosed.

In a bid to complete what others have failed to accomplish, BlueDolphin Gas Storage LLC announced its plans to purchase the AvocaGas Storage facility from Northeastern Gas Caverns LLC yesterday.With the purchase, Blue Dolphin will become the third owner of thefacility this year. No financial terms of the transaction weredisclosed.

FERC has decided to give Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) a short-termextension of waivers to Commission regulations to preserve the”status quo” of natural gas unbundling in the state while itexplores other non-waiver options for utilities.