Risk

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, prices continued to slide Wednesday for pretty much the same reasons that they have through nearly all of the May aftermarket so far: a relative dearth of weather demand for either heating or air conditioning; a weak screen; and a decidedly blasé attitude about any urgency in refilling storage.

Over-reliance on natural gas as the fuel for new electricgenerating plants nationally carries with it an inherent risk toreliability and the threat of exacerbating already volatilewholesale markets, according to three industry executives whoaddressed a meeting of state regulatory commissioners in San Diegolast week.

TXU Energy Services inked a five-year, $300 million energyservices contract to provide natural gas, electric and riskmanagement services to more than 80 of John Deere’s North Americanfacilities. TXU Energy Services will also help to developenergy-efficiency improvement projects for John Deere’s NorthAmerican operations.

TXU Energy Services inked a five-year, $300 million energyservices contract to provide natural gas, electric and riskmanagement services to more than 80 of John Deere’s North Americanfacilities. TXU Energy Services will also help to developenergy-efficiency improvement projects for John Deere’s NorthAmerican operations.

In the wake of California’s latest round of electricity priceand supply shock concentrated in San Diego, some of the state’smajor energy industry participants have raised the level ofinterest in forward markets and hedging. San Diego Gas and ElectricCo., in particular, has been second guessed about why it did notuse available hedging instruments through the state’s nonprofitpower exchange to help ease the impact of recent wholesale pricespikes on its retail customers.

With all the trajectory of a risk manager tethered to abungee-cord and thrust out of a Houston skyscraper, natural gasprices dove then rebounded Monday as traders digested fresh weatherforecasts.

PG&E Energy Trading-Gas Corp. has named Al Pollard to thepost of Midwest basis trader with responsibility for managing theMidwest desk’s basis risk, reporting to Michael L. Axton, directorof gas trading, Midwest. Pollard joins PG&E Energy Trading fromEnron where he has held trading positions in natural gas and powersince 1995.

Houston-based Energy Solutions Inc. (ESI), the developer of gasand risk management software GASMAN, has been acquired byLICENERGY of Denmark. The deal is intended to create a company witha larger market presence in the transaction management andconsulting arena. Energy Solutions will be renamed Energy SolutionsInternational.

Merrillville, IN-based NiSource confirmed yesterday what someobservers have suspected for some time: that Columbia EnergyGroup’s failed bid for Consolidated Natural Gas was partly a veiledattempt to protect itself from being targeted by a buyer. NiSourceannounced that it has had an offer for Columbia on the table sinceApril 1 but has been rebuffed repeatedly and is making its hostilebid public in an effort to pressure Columbia’s board.