Sentiments

Reflecting similar sentiments expressed around Wall Street, a Calpine Corp. executive indicated Tuesday that declining wholesale natural gas prices are not likely to happen anytime soon, and in the longer run, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and eventual Alaskan supplies won’t necessarily dampen prices as many industry observers have been predicting.

In a packed business meeting in which anti-utility sentiments were palpable, California regulators Thursday narrowly (on a 3-2 vote) approved a modified settlement agreement for Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to emerge from bankruptcy, paying off $12 billion to its creditors and regaining an investment-grade credit rating. The action follows a last-minute compromise between the utility and the state’s leading utility consumer group, requiring state legislation to realize an estimated $1 billion in savings for PG&E’s retail electric utility customers.

Echoing the sentiments of interstate natural gas pipelines and investor-owned utilities, the American Gas Association (AGA) has called on FERC to tone down its proposed rule to impose quarterly financial reporting requirements on jurisdictional companies, saying the agency is demanding far more information than what is needed for it to effectively oversee energy markets.

Echoing the sentiments of interstate natural gas pipelines and investor-owned utilities, the American Gas Association (AGA) has called on FERC to tone down its proposed rule to impose quarterly financial reporting requirements on jurisdictional companies, saying the agency is demanding far more information than what is needed for it to effectively oversee energy markets.

In the latest of a string of bullish reports for the gasindustry, the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-TermEnergy Outlook projected prices in the coming months to be 25% to30% higher than last winter. It also said that demand, which theEIA said rose by less than 1% in 1999 compared to 1998, is poisedto grow 4.6% in 2000. The demand jump, which puts the consumptionlevel at 22.4 Tcf, represents an increase of 1 Tcf over 1999’sconsumption levels.

Cash prices returned to a climbing mode Friday, and in theprocess won more converts to believing in a fundamentally stronggas market this spring and summer. Although Western gains tended tolag a bit behind, most increases were between a nickel and a dime.Most of the double-digit gains occurred in the Gulf Coast,Appalachian and Northeast market areas.