Recovery

The cash market made a strong rebound Monday from the weekend’sprice plunge as nearly every point rose by 15 cents or more. Inmost cases the gains did not recover all of the price territorythat had been lost Friday. However, the Northeast—one of the fewregions seeing any weather close to resemblingwinter —didmanage to make up for just about all of Friday’s citygate declines.

October futures managed to achieve a moderately strong recoveryFriday but apparently there was too much negative baggage left overfrom Thursday’s quarter-plus plunge to support cash. Physical gasprices continued their downhill slide, buffeted by the combinationof weak holiday weekend demand and mild weather virtuallyeverywhere. “Cash just didn’t stand a chance today,” a marketersaid.

Under the “Energize RI” program, Providence Gas Co. (ProvGas)has been awarded $2.45 million by the Rhode Island Public UtilitiesCommission (PUC) for losses attributable to external forces theutility experienced last winter. The original request was grantedby the the PUC’s Division of Public Utilities and Carriers (theDivision) in March but it was subject to PUC approval.

Under the “Energize RI” program, Providence Gas Co. (ProvGas)was awarded $2.45 million Wednesday by the Rhode Island PublicUtilities Commission (PUC) for losses attributable to externalforces the utility experienced last winter. The original requestwas granted by the the PUC’s Division of Public Utilities andCarriers (the Division) in March but it was subject to PUCapproval.

Abandoning straight-fixed variable rate design (SFV) in favor ofone that would permit recovery of some pipeline fixed costs in theusage rate would resolve a lot of the competitive concerns raisedby FERC in its mega-notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) and noticeof inquiry (NOI), New York regulators and a coalition of utilitiessaid in separate, yet complementary filings last week.

With a little holiday cheer, the American Gas Association handedout an extremely optimistic 1999 gas consumption forecast last weekas a gift to those whose spirits may be down with gas demand thisChristmas season. The association told those attending its year-endreview conference in Washington, D.C. to expect 5% growth inconsumption in 1999, led by a 13% increase in the residentialsector and a 6.8% jump in the commercial sector. This rosy glow,however, would be fueled by normal weather, something that’s beenin short supply over the past year. Given above normal wintertemperatures next year (10% fewer heating degree days) and severalother negative factors such as $10/bbl oil prices, AGA expects an0.4% drop in gas demand.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded an order in whichFERC denied Iroquois Gas Transmission System L.P the recovery oflegal costs stemming from the criminal and civil investigationsinto environmental violations associated with the construction ofpipeline facilities in the early 1990s.

It took a while longer than many traders had counted on, but thewidely expected recovery from last Thursday’s falling pricesfinally came to pass Wednesday. The upticks were broadly based butdiverse, ranging from 2-5 cents at many Gulf Coast and Midcontinentpoints to 10-15 cents in the California market.