Prepare

To prepare for the coming peak period of electricityconsumption, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) hasannounced it will monitor the state’s wholesale electric marketduring this first summer of its operation. The market now isadministered by the New York Independent System Operator (NY ISO),an independent non-profit organization that operates the state’sbulk power system and administers a competitive wholesale marketfor electricity.

Thursday marked the first time bears took firm control of themarket all week, as most price points fell between a nickel and 10cents. A large majority of the deals were made through the weekend,as many trading offices were expected to be sparsely populated onGood Friday.

Citing a need to prepare for competitive environments, CinergyCorp. announced steps to reduce the size of its corporate centerlast week.

Next Wednesday’s FERC meeting promises to be a blockbuster. TheCommission has placed the hotly contested SupplyLink-IndependencePipeline-MarketLink projects on the agenda, essentially thumbingits nose at New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman’s request for a60-day delay [CP97-319, CP97-315, CP98-540].

Preparing for the potential inability of Peachtree Natural Gasto reliably supply gas, the Georgia Public Service Commission(GPSC) decided to issue an RFP yesterday for any marketer who wouldwant to be an interim pooler and accumulate some or all ofPeachtree’s 177,000 customers. The RFP is scheduled to concludetoday.

Cautious selling was met with light, scale-down buying pressureat the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday. And when the dust hadcleared and all the orders counted, both bulls and bears couldglean something positive from the session. Bulls were quick topoint to the $2.225 settlement, a 0.7-cent advance for the day.Bears, on the other hand, touted Friday’s lower high and lower lowas an indication the downtrend was still intact. Estimated volumeof 77,538 confirmed the heavy activity in the pit.

Six marketers have succeeded in obtaining most of the Georgiagas market share, with Scana and Georgia Natural Gas Services(GNGS), the Atlanta Gas Light affiliate, emerging as definitivewinners, according to a study performed by Xenergy, the New YorkState Electric &amp Gas affiliate.

Six marketers have succeeded in obtaining most of the Georgiagas market share, with Scana and Georgia Natural Gas Services(GNGS), the Atlanta Gas Light affiliate, emerging as definitivewinners, according to a study performed by Xenergy, the New YorkState Electric & Gas affiliate.

There was no calm before the storm on Thursday as the futuresmarket experienced another day of volatile, choppy trading astraders turned to televisions in trading rooms across the countryfor the direction and strike probabilities of Hurricane Georges.The October contract bounced back and forth throughout the tradingsession as the market digested the imminence of supply shut ins.That prompted the spot month to move 4.8 cents higher yesterday,settling at $2.179.