Participants

Still holding on to the collateral of its 70-odd participants inthe form of letters of credit and bonds worth hundreds of millionsof dollars, California’s state-chartered nonprofit wholesale spotmarket for electricity, Cal-PX, chose a Chapter 11 bankruptcyfiling last week because of the preponderance of litigation andfederal regulatory actions pending, its CEO George Sladoje saidMonday.

In an effort to provide a more expansive period in whichparticipants can adjust their positions on evenings whenafter-hours Access trading is unavailable, the New York MercantileExchange will offer a 10-minute post-close trading session at theend of every week, with the same trading range that occurs duringthe day’s trading session, for its crude oil, heating oil, unleadedgasoline, and natural gas futures contracts.

While various market participants and analysts are advising astepped up construction schedule for new power plants, oneCalifornia community may be getting the message.

The one-day “Natural Gas Summit” held yesterday in Coloradoturned out to be quite an eye-open for industrial gas customers andsuppliers alike, according to participants.

Canada’s National Energy Board has sent a message toparticipants in the international natural gas trade: Stay cool andgreet predictions of Canadian supply shortages with healthyskepticism.

Canada’s National Energy Board has sent a message toparticipants in the international natural gas trade: Stay cool andgreet predictions of Canadian supply shortages with healthyskepticism.

Market participants cited short-covering and relatively strongcash prices as the main reasons for a 7.4-cent gain turned in bythe March Nymex contract Tuesday. The contract flirted around theminor resistance level of $1.81 for most of the day before settlingslightly higher at $1.818.

The halfway nature of deregulation in the electric industry,which left market participants without the tools necessary to dealwith a sudden tight market situation-and panic-were criticalelements in the recent spiking of spot electric prices, marketexperts told congressmen Wednesday.