Retrenchment

After four days of rising at nearly all points, the cash market showed signs of retrenchment Friday. Gainers continued to outnumber losers — but only barely. Quotes continued to rise at most Gulf Coast and Northeast points, where the much anticipated winter storm was just arriving, but softness dominated in the Midcontinent/Midwest and western markets.

While going through a retrenchment in what has been the nation’s most aggressive merchant power plant expansion nationally in the U.S., San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. is looking to beef up its natural gas assets on a net basis, and expects to be making some acquisition announcements in the very near future, its senior executive for planning/development indicated Friday during a 30-minute interview. The company expects to be both a buyer and a seller of gas assets.

Two retail marketer bankruptcies in Georgia and the legislativeand regulatory retrenchment in California should take most of theblame for the slowdown in gas deregulation nationwide, according toMarie Lihn, principal economic analysis manager for the GasTechnology Institute (GTI) (see related stories this issue). Anationwide preoccupation with electric restructuring has not helpedthe gas cause either, she said in an interview regarding a new GTIstudy on gas deregulation.

Two retail marketer bankruptcies in Georgia and the legislativeand regulatory retrenchment in California should take most of theblame for the slowdown in gas deregulation nationwide, according toMarie Lihn, principal economic analysis manager for the GasTechnology Institute (GTI). A nationwide preoccupation withelectric restructuring has not helped the cause either, she said inan interview regarding a new GTI study on gas deregulation.

Cash prices finally experienced some retrenchment Thursdayfollowing an awe-inspiring series of growth spurts during May, buta near-total collapse of the screen along with the usual dropoff inweekend demand is expected to result in significantly greaterdeclines today.

Having sold unprofitable Texas natural gas businesses and begunto dispose of its unprofitable energy services business, PG&ECorp. reported an 80% increase in first quarter results, comparedto the year-earlier period, earning $284 million, or 79cents-per-share. Its slimmed-down national energy group now focusedon merchant power generation and trading contributed 16cents-per-share to those results, said CEO Robert Glynn, Jr.

Having sold unprofitable Texas natural gas businesses and begunto dispose of its unprofitable energy services business, PG&ECorp. reported an 80% increase in first quarter results, comparedto the year-earlier period, earning $284 million, or 79cents-per-share. Its slimmed-down national energy group now focusedon merchant power generation and trading contributed 16cents-per-share to those results, said CEO Robert Glynn, Jr.

As presaged Tuesday by late retrenchment in cash quotes and ascreen drop that carried over into Access trading, the cash marketwas in full retreat Wednesday. All points were off by at least anickel or so, and most of the decreases were around a dime. In whatwas described often as quiet trading, the softening Henry Hubfutures contract for June was the only significant influence oncash that sources could cite.

As several observers expected, cash prices started to retracetheir steps back down Thursday after having peaked the day before.Declines ranged from as little as a nickel to nearly 15 cents, butmost were in the neighborhood of a dime.