Part

Walter Higgins, CEO of AGL Resources Inc., stood and faced themusic recently at the annual shareholders meeting in Atlanta asstock owners voiced their opinions concerning AGL Resources’subsidiary Atlanta Gas Light’s (AGL) over-billing controversy. Thecompany’s earnings did nothing to ease shareholders’ pain. AGLResources’ revenues for this quarter were down $75.2 million from1997 to $323.9 million. Operating margins fell from $145.1 millionin the year-ago quarter to $136.9 million for the quarter endedDec. 31. Weather and poor results stemming from the company’spartnership with Sonat caused the poor performance.

Despite a disappointing storage report and continuedabove-normal temperatures across the country, natural gas futuresbubbled higher yesterday as technical traders found good value inprices near the bottom end of the recent trading range. And byadvancing 6.2 cents to settle at $1.837, the March contract notonly washed clean Wednesday’s declines but also positioned itselfback in the middle of the $1.725-925 trading range. Estimatedvolume was a somewhat lackluster 61,716 contracts.

Nipsco Industries reached the brink of gaining a valuable eastcoast influence Thursday as the SEC approved a merger betweenNipsco and Massachusetts-based Bay State Gas Co. The $780 millionmerger was originally announced in December of 1997. Both sides arereviewing final documentation and no other regulatory matters arepending. Nipsco expects the deal to close today.

FERC earlier this week gave the go-ahead to a compressionupgrade that would add 315,218 Dth/d of firm transportationcapacity to Columbia Gulf Transmission, bringing its system up toits certificated capacity level and then some.

PennzEnergy Co. – recently formed when Pennzoil Products Groupwas spun off to merge with Quaker State – is in the process ofreactivating its onshore U.S. operations and tip-toeing deeper intothe Gulf of Mexico. PennzEnergy operations are focused on threeareas: domestic onshore, domestic offshore, and international.Operations are in the in East and West Texas, on and offshore Gulfof Mexico, and in Egypt, Azerbaijan, and Venezuela.

Walter Higgins, CEO of AGL Resources Inc., stood and faced themusic recently at the annual shareholders meeting in Atlanta asstock owners voiced their opinions concerning AGL Resources’subsidiary Atlanta Gas Light’s (AGL) over-billing controversy. TheGeorgia Public Service Commission and AGL settled the issue earlierthis month, with AGL agreeing to alter its billing methods andrefund $14.5 million to customers. The incident enraged manypeople, including one shareholder who demanded Higgins’resignation.

General Electric (GE) announced Thursday it has entered into ajoint venture with Plug Power, a Latham NY-based company dedicatedto the development and manufacturing of fuel cells, to market fuelcells worldwide. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Thetwo companies will combine efforts to form a new company called GEFuel Cell Systems. GE will own 75% of the new company, with PlugPower owning the rest. GE also acquired 10% of Plug Power ownershipin the deal.

Blaming a “necessary” investment to penetrate Georgia’sderegulating gas market, Scana Corp. posted 1998 fourth quarterconsolidated earnings of $31 million or $0.30 cents per share, downfrom $59 million or $0.55 cents per share for 4Q97. For the year,however, Scana Corp. increased consolidated earnings from $221million or $2.06 per share in 1997 to $223 million or $2.12 pershare for 1998.

Calpine Corp. of San Jose, CA, and North Dartmouth-MA basedEnergy Management Inc. formed a new power marketing joint venture,Calpine/EMI Marketing, LLC, which will sell power and transmissioncapacity in New England from new generation facilities in theregion.