Providers

Brian Watt, CEO of Columbia Energy Services (CES), predicted ashakeout of retail energy providers over the next five years on thescale of what happened in the telecommunications industry, wheremarket participants dwindled from 400 to less than 10.

A number of utility and industrial customers in Wisconsincontinue to register their support for the proposed GuardianPipeline, which — if built — would offer the state its firstglimpse of gas pipeline competition.

A number of utility and industrial customers in Wisconsincontinue to register their support for the proposed GuardianPipeline, which — if built — would offer the state its firstglimpse of gas pipeline competition.

SCANA Energy and affiliate Powertel, Inc., one of the largestwireless PCS telecommunications providers in the Southeast,announced plans to jointly market their services at 30 kiosklocations in Kroger grocery stores in Greater Atlanta, Macon,Augusta and Savannah beginning today. Powertel will provide thepersonnel for the kiosks locations, which were built and installedby SCANA. Customers will soon be able to sign up for Powertel andSCANA services, make bill payments and receive information on otherservices while shopping at Kroger.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has given Sierra Pacific Powerand Nevada Power – the two largest providers of electricity andnatural gas in Nevada – a clean bill of health on the antitrustaspects of their proposed merger. The DOJ action came in the wakeof FERC’s approval of the $4 billion transaction last Wednesday.

One of the “biggest issues” facing the natural gas industry inthe upcoming year with respect to Y2K will be the readiness of “keyproviders and dependent players,” namely the electricity andtelecommunications industries, said pipeline and LDC officials lastweek.

Retail energy service providers and marketers now have an addedpotential way to reach into California’s mass market residentialand small business customers by buying part of the utility billingenvelope space. Under new state regulatory rules, investor-ownedenergy utilities (IOUs) are opening access to their ubiquitousbills that are mailed regularly to millions of customers.