Sees

Expect additional staff reductions, office closures andregulated rate changes in the near future at TransCanada PipeLines,Gary Mihaichuk, president of transmission, said in an interviewwith NGI last week.

Expect additional staff reductions, office closures andregulated rate changes in the near future at TransCanada PipeLines,Gary Mihaichuk, president of transmission, said in an interviewwith NGI this week.

Commissioners Linda K. Breathitt and Vicky A. Bailey last weekjoined the club of those confused about when, if ever, FERC mightsettle the huge number of gas issues that have been on its platefor more than a year. Much to the chagrin of the industry, whichhas been anticipating some type of FERC action soon, Breathittindicated it would take up to six more months, while Baileypredicted the Commission would be delivering a package of gasdecisions by Christmas.

Commissioners Linda K. Breathitt and Vicky A. Bailey this weekjoined the club of those confused about when, if ever, FERC mightsettle the huge number of gas issues that have been on its platefor more than a year. Early in the week, Breathitt indicated itwould take up to six more months, while Bailey said yesterday theCommission would be delivering a package of gas decisions byChristmas.

The cash market turned in a decidedly mixed performance Monday.In general, quotes at many western points were up a nickel or so,while the East ranged from essentially flat to down as much as adime. A marketer had a simple explanation: “The West had a littlemore weather (cooling load) than the East did.” A screen drop of 2cents only had the barest negative influence on cash, sources said.

Got gas? In Coos Bay, OR, the answer is no. Citizens pushingbusiness development for the economically depressed area want tobuild a pipeline to change that.

Pipeline import capacity in the Northeast sub-region could fallshy of natural gas demand by more than 5 Bcf/d by 2010 if nosignificant capacity additions are constructed during the period,according to a new study by the Edison Electric Institute (EEI)that was released last week. The shortfall is predicatedon existingimport capacity in the sub-region remaining fairly constant at 12.4Bcf/d over the next decade, while the daily winter gas demand forthe area expands to about 17.5 Bcf/d.

Avista Corp. is counting on technology businesses for growth andsees its Internet-based bill consolidation business as the frontdoor to a nationwide marketing presence. During press briefingslast week in Houston and Washington, DC, executives outlinedAvista’s continuing evolution.

Much of Monday’s swing market closely resembled that of Friday:flat to down 3-4 cents. But some points were conspicuous withsubstantially larger decreases. Since CIG and Public Service ofColorado ended price-boosting OFOs over the weekend, prices onCIG-North System and Questar fell by a little over a nickel. Thesteepest plunge by far of almost 20 cents came at CIG-DJ(Denver-Julesburg) Basin, which had soared by a similar amountlast Wednesday after PSCo declared a Restricted Delivery Daysituation.