Peoples

With the memory of the deadly explosion of the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) transmission line still fresh in peoples’ minds, two measures have been introduced in the Senate to improve the safety of pipelines.

With the memory of the deadly explosion of the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) transmission line still fresh in peoples’ minds, two measures have been introduced in the Senate to improve the safety of pipelines.

Green Bay, WI-based WPS Resources Corp.’s $1.52 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Peoples Energy Corp. cleared its final hurdle last Thursday as the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) gave its verbal approval to the proposed merger of the companies, which was first announced on July 10, 2006 (see NGI, July 10, 2006; July 17, 2006). The companies said the transaction will close following the commission’s written order, which is expected to be issued Feb. 16. Upon closing, the new company will be known as Integrys Energy Group Inc., and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TEG. The combined company will have assets of about $10.3 billion and its market capitalization is expected to exceed $4 billion. On the regulated side, the company will have more than 1.6 million natural gas customers and nearly half a million electric customers, with operations in four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota.

With talks still under way between producers and aboriginal peoples in Canada’s far north, Imperial Oil Ltd.’s investor relations manager J.C. Cote said Thursday that by the end of this year the producer group is expected to announce plans for a single natural gas pipeline from the Mackenzie Delta to Norman Sands to carry Canadian gas only. Cote, who was in Toronto to speak at the Canadian Oil & Gas Conference sponsored by Peters & Co. Ltd., also said that Imperial’s natural gas production, which up to now has been entrenched in Western Canada, surprisingly will be paralleled on the East Coast in Sable Island in the future.

With talks still under way between producers and aboriginal peoples in Canada’s far north, Imperial Oil Ltd.’s investor relations manager J.C. Cote said Thursday that by the end of this year the producer group is expected to announce plans for a single natural gas pipeline from the Mackenzie Delta to Norman Sands to carry Canadian gas only. Cote, who was in Toronto to speak at the Canadian Oil & Gas Conference sponsored by Peters & Co. Ltd., also said that Imperial’s natural gas production, which up to now has been entrenched in Western Canada, surprisingly will be paralleled on the East Coast in Sable Island in the future.

Dominion Resources and Peoples Energy announced plans to expandElwood Energy LLC’s peaking gas-fired power plant in Elwood, IL, byan additional 600 MW. The expansion to the state’s first merchantpower facility will double the capacity to 1,200 MW and is thesecond phase in a process that is expected to eventually bringtotal capacity of the plant to 3,100 MW. The $230 million expansionwill add four General Electric 150 MW gas-fired turbines.Construction to add the high efficiency, low-emission turbines willbegin this summer and be completed during the summer of 2001, intime to meet peak summer demand. The Elwood facility is locatedadjacent to several interstate gas pipelines that provide access tocompetitively priced gas supplies. The facility’s generatorsinterconnect to a high-capacity Commonwealth Edison transmissioncorridor that provides delivery to Midwest power markets. Contractdiscussions with potential purchasers of Elwood’s expanded outputare underway, but details are not available. Existing production issold under multi-year contracts with Commonwealth Edison and EngageEnergy US, LP. Elwood’s existing 600 megawatts of capacity wasplaced in service in July 1999. When fully built, Elwood would beIllinois’ largest merchant facility.

The three largest gas utilities in western Pennsylvania(Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Equitable Gas and Peoples Gas) urgedcustomers to press Congress to restore full funding to the LowIncome Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The three gascompanies began a letter writing campaign on behalf of customers,consumer groups and social service agencies. Elimination of LIHEAPwould impact thousands of customers in Pennsylvania, the utilitiessaid. Nearly 350,000 Pennsylvania families benefit from theprogram. The LIHEAP grant is applied directly to heating bills.Eligibility is based on family income and the number of householdmembers. LIHEAP, a federally-funded program, has been around fortwo decades, but its future was thrown into doubt last month whenthe House Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the programin fiscal 1999, saving $1.1 billion. President Clinton hadrequested $1.4 billion for LIHEAP in his 1999 budget. Members ofthe U.S. House of Representatives will have another opportunity toconsider LIHEAP funding later this month.