Principal

Higher natural gas prices have prompted New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG), the principal subsidiary of New Jersey Resources, to request its second rate hike in less than five months. NJNG notified the state’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) on Monday of plans to increase prices by 5% effective Dec. 1; the utility requested a gas rate hike in June, which took effect in October.

The CMS Energy board elected David W. Joos president and CEO. Joos had been president and COO of the company. Former CEO Ken Whipple will continue as chairman of CMS Energy and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy. The new positions are effective Oct. 1. Whipple has served as chairman and CEO since May 2002 when a wash trading scandal led to the resignation of former CEO William T. McCormick (see Daily GPI, May 28, 2002). CMS said Whipple will continue to lead the company board’s oversight and guidance as it moves forward with its “utility-plus” strategy. Joos joined the utility in 1976 and has received a succession of increasingly responsible management positions at the company.

Enron Corp. announced on Friday that it has reached a reorganization agreement in principal with its creditors, but needs yet another extension until July 11 to complete the deal and file it with the bankruptcy court. It’s unclear whether Judge Arthur J. Gonzalez will grant another extension. He indicated in February before granting a fourth extension to June 30 that his patience with the delays was wearing thin (see Daily GPI, April 24, Feb. 24).

With its principal subsidiary still enmeshed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, San Francisco-based PG&E Corp. last week reported a complicated stream of earnings that included several arcane designations such as “headroom,” reversal of past pre-bankruptcy charges and various energy crisis/bankruptcy charges. The net effect of all the accounting machinations is $631 million, or $1.71/share, of earnings for the first quarter, compared to a $951 million loss, or negative 2.62/share for the same period last year.

In a $334 million tax-free stock deal that will triple its gas reserves and double its daily production, Denver-based Westport Resources Corp. announced it will buy Belco Oil & Gas, a peer company similar in structure with mirror assets in the Rocky Mountains, Permian Basin, Gulf Coast region and the Midcontinent.

California’s three principal gas distributors are gearing up fora major customer education program this fall in the face ofincreased wholesale gas prices ranging from 35% to 50%. It hascaused the companies to dust off conservation and low-incomeassistance programs from previous years.

Costilla Energy Inc. of Midland, TX, is examining its optionsafter lenders extended until June 1 a $10.2 million mandatoryprincipal payment due a bank credit facility. Petrie Parkman &ampCo. was hired to weigh potential deals.

Costilla Energy Inc. of Midland, TX, is examining its optionsafter lenders extended until June 1 a $10.2 million mandatoryprincipal payment due a bank credit facility. Petrie Parkman &Co. was hired to weigh potential deals.

Coral Energy became the principal gas supplier to LDCMountaineer Gas Co. through an agreement giving Coral management ofvirtually all of Mountaineer’s total firm transportation andstorage entitlements. Effective Nov. 1, Coral will begin supplyingMountaineer, West Virginia’s largest LDC, about 25 Bcf/year forthree years. Gas will be supplied at a fixed price. Local gassupplies are not part of the deal and will continue to be managedby Mountaineer.