Overlooking

Overlooking for the time being its current financial position, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is eyeing in-state gas transportation and storage expansions in California to help alleviate the current strain on the gas system and prevent likely future curtailments during peak summer demand periods, a utility official said last week.

U.S. energy marketing companies seem to be overlooking asuccessful method of drawing in vast numbers of retail customers.”Affinity” marketing, which involves striking exclusive allianceswith large organizations and companies to offer services to theirmembers and employees, is a marketing method that has proved quitesuccessful in the United Kingdom but largely has been untried inthe U.S., New York-based Datamonitor said in a new study.