Postponing

International traffic in Canadian natural gas held firm through spring, postponing a widely forecast time of reckoning when soft prices and weakened drilling are expected to erode the trade, National Energy Board records show.

The third time was not a charm for full-requirements (FR) shippers on El Paso Natural Gas. After postponing the deadline twice in response to FR customers’ pleas, FERC last Wednesday said the systemwide conversion of FR service to contract demand (CD) service on El Paso will go forward as planned on Sept. 1.

The third time was not a charm for full-requirements (FR) shippers on El Paso Natural Gas. After postponing the deadline twice in response to FR customers’ pleas, the FERC on Wednesday said the systemwide conversion of FR service to contract demand (CD) service on El Paso will go ahead as planned on Sept. 1.

While hamstrung by a state law postponing further natural gasindustry restructuring, California regulators last week started adetailed assessment of whether the major investor-owned utilitiesthat they oversee have unfair competitive advantages that must beneutralized by future legislative and regulatory action. In initialproceedings last year, various non-utility market players allegedthe state’s three biggest gas utilities hold excessive market powerover major aspects of the industry.