Preceding

The notion that electricity customers in high-cost states willobtain lower priced power under retail competition at the expenseof customers in low-cost states was debunked in a pipeline-backedstudy released last week.

Connecticut regulators last week issued a draft decision thattakes a mid-course review of commercial and industrial natural gasunbundling in an effort to fine-tune the state’s two-year-oldprogram. The draft also was seen as a “first step” towards possiblyachieving customer choice in the state’s residential gas marketdown the road.

Last year set a 1990s record for exploration and productioncapital spending, but the five-year trend of capital spendingincreases may end this year with the first decline since 1992.That’s one finding of Global Upstream Performance Trends, a reviewof domestic and international results for 131 publicly tradedcompanies by Arthur Andersen and John S. Herold.

Natural gas producers and industrial customers insist theyaren’t the least bit interested in the Columbia pipelineaffiliates’ proposals to negotiate terms and conditions of service,saying pipelines have the potential now to offer them and othercustomers innovative services on a tariffed basis. Utilities, onthe other hand, were mixed in their reaction.

Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO) announced it isexpanding its NIPSCO Choice program to an additional 32,000residential customers in the South Bend area this summer and willintroduce the program to Fort Wayne-area residents early next year.In addition, the number of commercial and small industrialcustomers eligible to choose alternate suppliers will increase to10,000.

FERC last week gave the go-ahead for Destin Pipeline Co. L.L.C.to build lateral pipeline facilities that would connect offshoreproduction with its new 1 Bcf/d mainline system for eventualdelivery into downstream markets.

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) issued rulesThursday to give Atlanta Gas Light (AGL) customers supplier choice.Georgia will be the first state in the nation to fully open the gasmarket to competition at the residential level.

In an unusual move Thursday, the Senate Energy and NaturalResources Committee forwarded the nomination of FERC CommissionerWilliam L. Massey to the full Senate for approval immediatelyfollowing his confirmation hearing.

Natural gas producers sharply criticized an electric industryproposal that seeks to resolve commercial disputes through disputeresolution as a precursor to them being filed at FERC. The aim ofthe proposed plan is to streamline the complaint process at theCommission, electric officials say.