Right

Canadian exporters are signaling that National Energy Board Chairman Ken Vollman got it right earlier this month when he warned the United States against relying on Canadian production to satisfy growth in American demand for natural gas.

Canadian exporters are signaling that National Energy Board Chairman Ken Vollman got it right earlier this month when he warned the United States against relying on Canadian production to satisfy growth in American demand for natural gas.

While a $630 million refinancing package on Friday is a step in the right direction for Aquila Inc., Standard and Poor’s said it’s certainly not enough to offset the significant asset sales risks and desperate cash flow needs of the company. S&P cut Aquila’s corporate credit rating Friday to “B” from “B+.” It assigned a “B+” rating to Aquila’s new three-year $430 million senior secured credit facility. Aquila got a one-year $200 million loan for its Australian subsidiary, UtiliCorp Australia Inc.

The difficulty in determining savings from switching to another supplier can be the primary reason for not participating in customer choice programs. But a new handy calculator on the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel (OCC) web site (www.pickocc.org) makes the math easy for residential customers.

The 159 Bcf gas storage withdrawal for the week ending Dec. 13, announced Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), is “right smack in the middle of the range” for the same period over the past nine years, an energy expert said Thursday. However, the large withdrawals in recent weeks indicate that by next summer, supplies will be tight, ensuring that natural gas prices will be higher — already reflected in the futures market.

The 159 Bcf gas storage withdrawal for the week ending Dec. 13, announced Thursday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), is “right smack in the middle of the range” for the same period over the past nine years, an energy expert said Thursday. However, the large withdrawals in recent weeks indicate that by next summer, supplies will be tight, ensuring that natural gas prices will be higher — already reflected in the futures market.

To paraphrase a quotation attributed to Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens), everybody talks about the weather, but nobody seems to agree about the forecasts. Will El Nino warm up the Northeast and cool off the South and wreak havoc on utility and natural gas earnings? Will the Pacific Northwest have less rain this winter? And, most important, will the snow stop long enough in the Northeast to shovel the walkways clear for a day?

Without conceding any wrongdoing on its part, El Paso Electric Co. (EPE) has agreed to pay $14 million and lose the right for market-based trading for two years as part of a settlement with FERC trial staff that resolves issues arising from the agency’s investigation into the company and Enron Corp. [EL02-113-000]. The settlement was disclosed by the staff in written testimony filed Thursday.

Allegheny Energy’s efforts to right its financial ship got a big boost Wednesday after FERC issued an order allowing Allegheny Energy Supply Co. LLC to assign a wholesale power sales agreement and two related trade confirmations with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to a recently created subsidiary. The Commission also approved a market-based rate tariff filed by the new subsidiary, Allegheny Trading Finance Co. (ATF).