Past

Finding superlatives to match the second-quarter earningsreports for energy companies across the United States in the pastfew weeks has been difficult at best. With earnings doubled,tripled, and for some even quadrupled, there was little bad news toreport. High natural gas and crude prices, coupled with highdemand, have guaranteed magnificent returns across the board.

The NiSource-Columbia merger has gotten past two more hurdles on its way toward completion. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) unanimously approved the merger, leaving Virginia as the only state left out of the nine yet to approve it (see NGI, July. 10).

Atlanta’s natural gas utility holding company, AGL ResourcesInc., whose stock prices have fallen nearly 14% in the past year,said last week that cost cutting and more customers will pushthird-quarter profits ahead of analysts’ estimates. AGL wasexpected to earn 21 cents a share in the three months ending lastFriday (June 30), the average estimate of several analysts polledby First Call/Thomson Financial.

Atlanta’s natural gas utility holding company, AGL ResourcesInc., whose stock prices have fallen nearly 14% in the past year,said yesterday that cost cutting and more customers will pushthird-quarter profits ahead of analysts’ estimates. AGL wasexpected to earn 21 cents a share in the three months ending today,the average estimate of several analysts polled by FirstCall/Thomson Financial.

Natural gas marketers, which hadn’t given the proposedgreenfield Independence Pipeline and SupplyLink expansion a secondlook in the past, have signed up for firm transportation capacityon the controversial Midwest-to-East Coast pipeline projects, withone noting the projects were more appealing this time around.

Multiple electric utilities have waged a clandestine campaignover the past 3 years to funnel about $17 million through twoWashington, D.C. front groups in an effort to stall electricrestructuring legislation in the House Commerce Committee’s Energyand Power subcommittee, the Washington Post reported last week.

Multiple electric utilities have waged a clandestine campaignover the past 3½ years to funnel about $17 million through twoWashington, D.C. front groups in an effort to stall electricrestructuring legislation in the House Commerce Committee’s Energyand Power subcommittee, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

Acknowledging that a combination of unexpected generator outagesand sustained hot weather could create the threat of power outagesthis summer, the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO)launched a new alert system for gaining enough voluntaryconservation by businesses and mass consumers to ride out thepeak-demand periods. Calling it “Power Watch 2000,” Cal-ISOPresident/CEO Terry Winter said he anticipates that both short- andlong-term the state can use market-based programs to addresspotential shortfalls.

After stabilizing within a tight, 10-cent trading range for thepast week, natural gas futures finally broke to the upsideWednesday amid a post AGA buying surge. May received the largestboost of any month, rallying 7.2 cents to post its first $3.00-plus settlement at $3.021. According to the American GasAssociation 2 Bcf was injected into underground storage facilitieslast week, bringing the total to 1,033, or 31% full. “Its alwaysdifficult to predict the way the market will react to the firstinjection of the season,” a Chicago trader said. “Expectationscalled for net change of plus or minus 10 Bcf and that’s what wegot. If you ask me, I am a little surprised by the market’sreaction,” he said.