Providing

American Electric Power (AEP) said Wednesday it had dismissed five employees involved in natural gas marketing and trading after the company determined that they provided inaccurate price information for use in indexes compiled and published by trade publications.

Accounting companies providing auditing services and stock market analysts making investment recommendations took it on the chin Tuesday in the first of what promises to be a lengthy Senate investigation into the collapse of Enron Corp., and the failure of Wall Street watchdogs to sound a warning before the meltdown, described as “one of the largest, most destructive company failures of all time.”

In addition to providing about 1,500 MW of new power supply since the outset of summer, Calpine Corp. Tuesday told investors on a conference call that it has also enhanced California’s natural gas resources for the state market and its own operations.

Contrary to the charges of price gouging in the California market, Duke Energy said Friday its average rates for wholesale power sales over the last 15 months were only $76/MWh, and in the first quarter of 2001 rose to only $136/MWh, both well below average spot market prices for the same periods.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission picked up some kudos from Wall Street yesterday for “providing regulatory certainty and consistency, with incentives for growth and risk-taking.” The Commission should “stay the course,” Curt Launer, veteran energy analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston testified at the Commission’s technical conference on the California Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure.

Banks providing credit lines to Southern California Edison and its parent, Edison International, have extended their forbearance in recognition that they expect the utilities deal (MOU) with California’s governor will eventually be implemented to help restore credit-worthiness, Edison officials said last Tuesday as part of a conference call with the financial community dealing with the company’s first-quarter earnings report.

Banks providing credit lines to Southern California Edison and its parent, Edison International, have extended their forbearance in recognition that they expect the utilities deal (MOU) with California’s governor will eventually be implemented to help restore credit-worthiness, Edison officials said Tuesday as part of a conference call with the financial community dealing with the company’s first quarter earnings report.

As the state faced the threat of a third day of rollingblack-outs Friday, the California government enacted legislationproviding $400 million to the state water resources agency so itcan substitute for the two failing utilities, Pacific Gas &Electric and Southern California Edison, in buying bulk power forconsumers in northern California.

Construction is complete, and Transwestern Pipeline Co. hasincreased its available capacity to California by 15%, a moveproviding expansion shippers with opportunities to move incrementalvolumes from the San Juan and Permian Basins to the Californiaborder. The $12 million project was approved by FERC in mid-January(see NGI, Jan. 17, 2000).