Raised

PG&E Corp. raised the specter of the Enron calamity by announcing that it may have to amend its financial statements potentially back to 1999 and place certain “leases” on its balance sheet that would increase its total assets and liabilities by $1 billion. PG&E said it discovered errors in the accounting treatment of several leases related to merchant power plant financings. Nevertheless, it said any financial revisions would have no material impact on its current income statement.

Dynegy Inc.’s bonds were raised to “overweight” from “neutral” in a revised report by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. on Monday. The revision followed the “company’s strong performance in the fourth quarter, its focus on debt reduction and our belief that Dynegy has a reasonable probability that it will prevail in the lawsuit with Enron over the aborted merger last year.”

The antitrust division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) is probing allegations raised in a PJM Interconnection report that concludes that earlier this year a market participant exercised undue market power in PJM’s capacity credit markets, causing the price in those markets to spike higher than it would have otherwise been in a competitive market.

Powered by its marketing and trading unit, Houston-based Dynegy Inc. last week reported a 55% increase in its third quarter earnings from a year ago and also saw its net income jump 62%. With a strong finish expected for the year, Dynegy now predicts it will show 45% growth over 2000 — substantially higher than its prediction of 25% growth a year earlier, and remains optimistic of a 20% growth rate for several more years. CEO Chuck Watson attributed the stellar performance to Dynegy’s focus and intellectual capital, and predicted the company would continue to execute its strategies “regardless of market conditions.”

Powered by its marketing and trading unit, Houston-based Dynegy Inc. on Monday reported a 55% increase in its third quarter earnings from a year ago and also saw its net income jump 62%. With a strong finish expected for the year, Dynegy now predicts it will show 45% growth over 2000 — substantially higher than its prediction of 25% growth a year earlier, and remains optimistic of a 20% growth rate for several more years. CEO Chuck Watson attributed the stellar performance to Dynegy’s focus and intellectual capital, and predicted the company would continue to execute its strategies “regardless of market conditions.”

While leaping into the top five Canadian natural-gas producers, Burlington Resources Inc. also raised questions about its ability to stay there when it laid out C$3.3 billion (US$2 billion) cash for its takeover of Canadian Hunter Exploration Ltd. (see Daily GPI, Oct. 10).

Florida Gas Transmission continued an Overage Alert Day notice through at least Wednesday but raised the tolerance for negative daily imbalances from 10% to 15%.

The Powder River Basin of the Rocky Mountains holds more coalbed methane (CBM) reserves than previously thought, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) official, who testified Thursday before the House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. However, on a less positive note at the oversight hearing on CBM issues, Gene Whitney, a USGS supervisory geologist, lowered the forecast for CBM in the Uinta-Piceance Basin.

The Powder River Basin of the Rocky Mountains holds more coalbed methane (CBM) reserves than previously thought, according to a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) official, who testified Thursday before the House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. However, on a less positive note at the oversight hearing on CBM issues, Gene Whitney, a USGS supervisory geologist, lowered the forecast for CBM in the Uinta-Piceance Basin.