Push

Nevada government officials are continuing to push ahead withlicensing of nonutility electricity service providers and otheraspects of restructuring the state’s power industry, despitefederal and state court challenges by the two incumbent utilitiesthat promise to delay implementation of a more competitiveelectricity market by up to 18 months.

If current bullish projections for adding another 5 Tcf of gasdemand nationally over the next 10 years is going to become areality, the pace of merchant power plant development will have toaccelerate and the gas business will have to catch up with it,according to a panel of experts at GasMart/Power 2000 in Denverlast week.

If current bullish projections for adding another 6 Tcf of gasdemand nationally over the next 10 years is going to become areality, the pace of merchant power plant development will have toaccelerate and the gas business will have to catch up with it,according to a Duke Energy executive speaking at GasMart/Power 2000yesterday in Denver. Brad Porlier, vice president for businessdevelopment at Duke Energy North America, said he’s unsure that thecurrent gas industry can meet the challenge, assuming merchantdevelopment can overcome a growing list of hurdles from siting topolitical issues.

Last week’s announcement by Montana Power that it is getting outof the energy utility business may be the start of a new push toseparate electric transmission and distribution, with an increasein merchant transmission proposals, spurred by both shareholdersand regulators of the utilities, according to one of the nation’sfirst merchant power transmission companies. U.S. electrictransmission systems collectively represent a $70 to $90 billionset of assets.

Continuing to push its advantage as the main gas supplier inWisconsin, Coastal’s ANR Pipeline Co. announced last week thatAlliant Energy’s Wisconsin Power & Light Co. (WP&L) hasagreed to extend its transportation and storage service agreementsfrom 2000 and 2003 to 2003 and 2010, respectively. The PublicService Commission of Wisconsin (PSC-W) has approved theagreements. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Continuing to push its advantage as the main gas supplier inWisconsin, Coastal’s ANR Pipeline Co. announced yesterday thatAlliant Energy’s Wisconsin Power & Light Co. (WP&L) hasagreed to extend to 2003 and 2010, respectively, its transportationand storage service agreements, which are due to expire in 2000 and2003. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC-W) hasapproved the agreements. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The March swing market continued to roar in like a lionWednesday, and it appeared that many traders are betting it won’tturn into a lamb between now and the end of the month.

Energy restructuring and other market forces have become driversfor the federal government’s almost decade-old effort to greatlyreduce Uncle Sam’s overall $4 billion utility bill, the director ofthe Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) told an industryaudience gathered last week in a Los Angeles suburb. As a result,the feds this year should meet their goal set in 1993 to reduceoverall federal facility energy use by 20%, said FEMP Director BethShearer.

After trading within a wide, 20-cent trading range Friday,natural gas futures were noticeably quiet yesterday as little inthe way of either fundamental or technical information was seen topropel prices in either direction.