Previously

The Senate voted unanimously Friday to amend its broad energy bill to include previously passed legislation calling for stricter safety standards for natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines.

Previously battered energy company stocks continued to participate in the general stock market upturn, with some of those that have seen the largest losses — Calpine, AES, Mirant and Williams — now recording the greatest percentage gains. Energy companies were almost uniformly in the black, from large producers and independents through marketers, pipelines and power producers. Pure electric and gas utilities showed a few stock price losses, but those were scattered.

British gas company Centrica Plc has followed through on its previously announced deal to buy NewPower Holdings Inc., greatly expanding its presence in retail energy markets in North America. Centrica intends to buy all of NewPower’s outstanding shares for $1.05 per share in cash (subject to certain conditions), or a total of $130 million (see Daily GPI, Feb. 21 ). The acquisition is expected to include 650,000 U.S. residential and small business customers in states including Georgia, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Dynegy Inc. said Wednesday that it has appointed Matt K. Schatzman, previously president of Energy Trading, to the positions of president and CEO of the company’s energy convergence business. In his new roles, Schatzman will add energy marketing and origination, commercial asset management, operations and development of Dynegy’s U.S. generation facilities, and Dynegy Canada to his current responsibilities, which include all energy transportation, logistics and risk management activities. He will continue to report to Steve Bergstrom, Dynegy Inc. president and COO. Schatzman joined Dynegy in 1990 as director of transportation after spending three years at Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp. Cliff Hare, formerly senior vice president of marketing and origination for the Southeast, will replace Schatzman as president of Energy Trading. After spending 10 years with Southern Natural Gas Co., Hare joined Natural Gas Clearinghouse, Dynegy’s predecessor company, in 1987 and has served in various departments within the company, including transportation, gas trading, power fuel and gas and power marketing. He will relocate to Dynegy’s Houston headquarters and will report to Schatzman.

It took longer to accomplish than previously expected (see Daily GPI, Jan. 16), but Westcoast was able to restore processing capacity at its McMahon Gas Plant near Fort St. John, BC, to its normal 630 MMcf/d around mid-afternoon Wednesday. The capacity had been cut by about a third Tuesday due to excessive foaming of a monoethanol amine (MEA) treatment solution causing a shutdown of processing train #3.

What once was separated now is back together. Kansas City, MO-based UtiliCorp United has completed its previously announced short-form merger of its Aquila Inc. subsidiary with a UtiliCorp subsidiary. In November 2001, UtiliCorp unveiled its plans to buy back the 20% of its trading and risk management arm, Aquila, that it sold to the public earlier in 2001 and adopt Aquila as its corporate name (see NGI, Nov. 12, 2001; Nov. 19, 2001).

Kansas City, MO-based UtiliCorp United has completed its previously announced short-form merger of its Aquila Inc. subsidiary with a UtiliCorp subsidiary. In November 2001, UtiliCorp unveiled its plans to buy back the 20% of its trading and risk management arm, Aquila, that it sold to the public earlier in 2001 and adopt Aquila as its corporate name (see Daily GPI, Nov. 8, 2001).

Taking another step in its previously announced cash flow improvement plan, Austin, TX-based Southern Union Co. announced that it has sold all of the assets of its Atlantic Utilities division to Florida Public Utilities Co. in an all-cash transaction.

Taking another step in its previously announced cash flow improvement plan, Austin, TX-based Southern Union Co. said Monday that it has sold all of the assets of its Atlantic Utilities division to Florida Public Utilities Co. in an all-cash transaction.