Weakened natural gas prices – following a massive run-up last summer – intersected with rising interest rates to ease inflation that had only a few months ago reached a 40-year high. Further New York Mercantile Exchange gas futures price drops early this year, owing in part to relatively benign winter weather across most of January,…
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Oil Price Rise A Factor in Global Default Rate Decline, Moody’s Says
The trailing 12-month global speculative-grade default rate declined slightly to end the third quarter at 4.5%, with the stabilization of oil prices helping to stop the bleeding, according to a report issued Tuesday by Moody’s Investors Service.

Intermountain Seeks First NatGas Base Rate Hike in 31 Years
North Dakota-based MDU Resources Group’s Boise, ID-based Intermountain Gas Co. has filed its first request to increase base rates since 1985, seeking a $10.2 million (4%) annual increase.
U.S. E&P Default Rate Now Rivaling Telecom Bust, Moody’s Says
The oil and natural gas bust beginning in 2015 was worse than many thought, fueling a spike in the U.S. default rate that rivaled the telecom industry collapse in the early 2000s, both in recorded bankruptcies and low creditor recoveries, Moody’s Investor Service said.
PA PUC Cuts UGI Gas Division’s Rate Increase Request
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has voted to cut a base rate increase requested by UGI Utilities Inc.’s natural gas division by nearly 54%.
Railroad Commission of Texas Rules Against Westlake in Ethylene Pipeline Dispute
Regulators with the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) ruled that a unit of Westlake Chemical Corp. cannot charge a market-based rate on its ethylene pipeline, ending a three-year dispute with one of its customers.

FERC Approves Settlement on ANR Storage Rates
FERC has approved a settlement negotiated between ANR Storage Co. and its customers over storage rates, allowing both sides to avoid the expense of litigation through a rate case.
California Regulators Approve PG&E Gas Storage/Pipeline Rate Case
California regulators on Thursday approved nearly $950 million in increased rates to support Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) natural gas storage and transmission pipeline operations.
New Jersey Utilities Credit Marcellus For Residential Rate Rollback
Two utilities that supply natural gas in New Jersey will slash their rates to residential customers, thanks to an abundant supply of gas from the nearby Marcellus Shale, they said Wednesday.
Shipper Balks at ANR Cost of Service Hike But Would Like Fewer Pipeline Zones
On Tuesday FERC granted a hearing for an ANR Pipeline Co. rate case reflecting “a substantial increase” in the pipeline’s cost of service. The Commission also will consider a “preferred case,” proposed by ANR, which would cut its rate structure from seven to four zones. Judging by filings in the docket so far, there will be plenty to talk about.