Signals

Although it’s been less than two months since FERC Commissioners Joseph T. Kelliher and Suedeen Kelly joined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the names of people interested in filling the agency’s still-vacant fifth seat are beginning to surface.

After rising steadily for much of the session, the natural gas futures market tumbled lower in the last 30 minutes of trading Tuesday as locals rang the register and took profits for the day. At just 45,969, volume was light enough for their selling to make a difference and the October contract closed at $4.661, down 2.4 cents for the session and a dime off its earlier high.

Political bantering in informational hearings and the final session before a Senate Rules Committee confirmed the California Public Utilities Commission president has left the strong impression that state lawmakers may get serious about some reform measures for the state’s myriad of energy agencies.

Political bantering in informational hearings and the final session before a Senate Rules Committee confirmed the California Public Utilities Commission president has left the strong impression that state lawmakers may get serious about some reform measures for the state’s myriad of energy agencies.

Moody’s Investors Service last week revised the outlooks for Dominion Resources Inc. (Baa1 senior unsecured.) and its gas pipeline subsidiary CNG (A3 senior unsecured) to negative from stable, citing concerns over financial risk from debt-financed growth, particularly at Dominion Energy and Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG). However, the credit rating agency said the outlook remains stable for securities issued by Virginia Electric and Power (A2 senior secured) based upon regulatory support afforded the utility in Virginia through 2007.

Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday revised the outlooks for Dominion Resources Inc. (Baa1 senior unsecured.) and its gas pipeline subsidiary CNG (A3 senior unsecured) to negative from stable, citing concerns over financial risk from debt-financed growth, particularly at Dominion Energy and Consolidated Natural Gas (CNG). However, the credit rating agency said the outlook remains stable for securities issued by Virginia Electric and Power (A2 senior secured) based upon regulatory support afforded the utility in Virginia through 2007.

Analysts at Raymond James said they aren’t buying the recent talk on Wall Street of gas demand deterioration. Although lighter storage injections suggest demand is down due to higher gas prices, analysts should remember that prices for competing fuels are even higher, they said.

All signals late Friday indicated that former Enron Chairman and CEO Kenneth L. Lay will testify when he comes before a subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee this week, said a spokesman for the full committee.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week signaled the beginning of a shift in its policy on negotiated transactions, saying it will require pipelines negotiating customer-specific deals that include “material deviations” from their form of service agreements to offer the service to other similarly situated shippers on their systems.