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The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) has published the September natural gas marketer pricing page on its web site in order to give consumers what it said was a true “apples to apples” and total bill comparisons of the differences between marketer rate plan offers. The chart indicates that a bill for a typical variable rate customer in Georgia may vary by more than $15, depending on which marketer is chosen. The price per therm advertised by a marketer “may not give an accurate comparison since some marketers bill certain charges separately while others include them in the per therm rate,” according to the PSC. In addition, monthly customer service charges may vary from $4.75 to $14.75. Georgia law provides that the “price for natural gas billed to a natural gas customer shall not exceed the marketer’s published price effective at the beginning of the consumer’s billing cycle.” Additional information on consumer complaints concerning natural gas marketers may be found on the Gas Marketer Scoreboard at www.psc.state.ga.us/consumer_corner/scorecard.html.

With the exception of a few scattered flat to barely lower points, nearly all the market was on the same softening page Friday, showing the most unity of price movement since the previous week. Lack of heating load in many areas, the delayed impact of a bearish storage report Thursday and the demand dropoff typical of a weekend produced overall declines ranging from about a nickel to more than 40 cents but concentrated in the teens.

The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday issued a 1,000-page draft proposal that could expand oil and natural gas drilling in more than 8 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska.

Argentina’s scrambled economy that has drawn front-page attention from some major U.S. financial news media so far does not worry San Diego-based Sempra Energy, which has significant interest in two natural gas utilities.

A six-page list released by the White House last week identifying numerous contacts between Bush administration officials and former energy giant Enron Corp. “does not by a long stretch” comply with the Senate’s subpoenas for more exhaustive records and documents, said a spokeswoman for Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT).

The White House’s six-page list released Wednesday identifying numerous contacts between Bush administration officials and former energy giant Enron Corp. “does not by a long stretch” comply with the Senate’s subpoenas for more exhaustive records and documents, said a spokeswoman for Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-CT).

Taking a page from its counterpart in the northern half of the state that is openly trying to avoid California regulation, San Diego-based Sempra Energy has updated its strategy to focus on a “Global Enterprises” group of businesses not regulated by their headquarters state, according to what Sempra senior executives have told financial and employee audiences in recent weeks.

As part of an 111-page draft report that the California Energy Commission (CEC’s) is scheduled to vote on this Wednesday, the state is urged to address its natural gas infrastructure needs from the standpoint of regional impacts of new infrastructure in surrounding western states and with an objective of creating excess or “slack capacity” for the future. Excess capacity could have saved the state billions of dollars in the premiums paid for wholesale gas supplies last year, according to the draft staff report, which doesn’t represent the opinions of the appointed energy commissioners.

As part of an 111-page draft report for the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) approval next week, the state is urged to address its natural gas infrastructure needs from the standpoint of regional impacts of new infrastructure in surrounding western states, and with an objective of creating excess or “slack capacity” for the future.