Says

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded a PanhandleEastern Pipe Line decision that it says clearly departed fromFERC’s established policy on pipeline connections without providingany justification for the action.

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline says it’s willing to price itsproposed SouthCoast expansion in Georgia and Alabama at anincremental rate, which should melt away much of the opposition tothe project.

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline says it’s willing to price itsproposed SouthCoast expansion in Georgia and Alabama at anincremental rate, which should eliminate much of the opposition tothe project.

FERC Chairman James Hoecker said yesterday the Commissionintends to proceed with a vote on the hotly contested MarketLinkexpansion next week despite New Jersey Gov. Christine ToddWhitman’s threat of a lawsuit if the project is approved.

Transwestern Pipeline Co. said its proposed Gallup expansionsatisfies all the requirements of the new policy statement forcertificating pipeline projects and as a result should be”expeditiously” approved by FERC.

In his first visit ever to FERC, Energy Secretary BillRichardson last week drove home the need for a federal electricityrestructuring bill and the importance for the Commission to have apivotal part in that effort.

In his first visit ever to FERC, Energy Secretary BillRichardson yesterday drove home the need for a federal electricityrestructuring bill and the importance for the Commission to have acritical role in that effort.

A sample of energy industry experts attending the Dain RauscherWessels Energy Conference in Houston expect prices to strengthentoward the end of this year, only to give way to general priceweakness in 2000. Many of the 146 people polled at the conferencesaid they expected gas prices at the Henry Hub to surge towards$3.10 before the end of this year, then fall to the $2.50 levelearly next year. Overall, 800 energy industry experts, companyrepresentatives, institutional investors and securities analystsattended the four-day conference, which ended last week.

All eyes were on the electric utility industry yesterday as itreadied for the first industry-wide test of the preparedness of itscomputer systems for the transition to the year 2000. At the sametime, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson announced that eight majorelectric utilities still were either not Y2K ready or Y2K readywith limited exceptions. Also 16 municipal utilities and ruralcooperatives have yet to report on their Y2K progress to theAmerican Public Power Association and the National Rural ElectricCooperative Association.