Prompted

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

Prompted by overall strength in its various segments and the addition of Centra Gas, British Columbia-based BC Gas Inc. posted earnings of C$105.8 million or C$2.45/share for 2002, compared to earnings of C$84.6 million or C$2.21/share for the same period in 2001.

The California Legislature convened Monday in special session in Sacramento to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis that prompted Gov. Gray Davis to propose $10.2 billion in a combination of mid-fiscal year budget cuts and other savings. The state operates on a July-to-July fiscal year, and is facing a $21 to $30 billion deficit for the next fiscal year, 2003-04. Davis called the proposed cuts “severe” and likely difficult to implement midway through the fiscal year, but he said the state faces an “extraordinary challenge and no program will be held harmless.” State lawmakers, particularly members of his majority Democratic Party in each house, are expected to resist cuts in services to the needy. The legislature, which Davis called into two concurrent special sessions in 2001 to deal with the state’s energy crisis, will have to fashion legislation to implement the governor’s proposed cuts or come up with other ways to address the revenue shortfall that is principally due to the continuing economic downturn, particularly the decline in the dot-come sector that fueled large tax windfalls to the state in the late 1990s through mid-2000. Details of the governor’s proposed budget cuts are posted on the California finance department’s web site (www.dof.ca.gov).

In the wake of “recent upheavals in the gas industry” that have prompted severe credit downgrades of energy traders and others, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America and Kinder Morgan Interstate Gas Transmission LLC separately have proposed changes to their transportation tariffs to shield them and their paying pipeline customers from the financial risks posed by insolvent or credit-risky shippers. Natural’s and Kinder Morgan Interstate’s proposed credit protections primarily focus on capacity-release transactions, while Tennessee’s are far more broad.

Increasing financial risk in the energy trading business has prompted Natural Gas Exchange (NGX) to move to a fully collateralized gas commodity clearinghouse on July 1. The move is designed to ensure the integrity and security of exchange and clearing operations. NGX will require all parties to post collateral in the form of cash margin or a letter of credit.

Market changes and tough capital market conditions prompted NRG Energy Inc. to cancel plans last week to buy 794 MW of power generation from Conectiv subsidiary Atlantic City Electric Co.

Northeast market area demand growth has prompted Dominion Transmission Inc. (DTI) to plan a storage expansion project. Dominion is holding an open season for up to 6 Bcf of storage capacity and 100,000-200,000 Dth/d of deliverability under 15-year contract terms. The 30- to 60-day firm service would be available starting in the 2004-2005 winter heating season.

Prompted “in part by the Enron episode,” SEC Commissioner Isaac Hunt Jr. told Congress last week that the agency intends to begin an inquiry into whether it should regulate credit rating companies, as well as explore the need for greater competition within that industry.