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Although FERC adopted a double-digit return on equity (ROE) of 11.2% for Kern River Gas Transmission last month — higher than the single-digit 9.34% ROE that was recommended by an administrative law judge — other actions taken by the agency in the order will make the 11.2% ROE “structurally unachievable,” the Wyoming-to-California interstate natural gas pipeline said Monday.

Columbia Gas of Virginia topped its winter peak demand record for natural gas in August, reporting its three highest single demand days in its nearly 160-year history. The new peak — the first time it has ever been set in the summer — came on Aug. 2 when a heat wave swept through the eastern half of the country recording temperatures above 100 degrees in many locations.

Columbia Gas of Virginia topped its winter peak demand record for natural gas last week, reporting its three highest single demand days in its nearly 160-year history. The new peak — the first time it has ever been set in the summer — came on Aug. 2 when a heat wave swept through the eastern half of the country recording temperatures above 100 degrees in many locations.

A Gulf Coast producer couldn’t pinpoint any single factor behind a major price rebound Tuesday that included spikes of a dollar or more at a few Northeast citygates, but said it more likely was related to a combination of several relatively minor things. However, a marketer in the Lower Midwest saw one overriding reason for the sharp increases: more power generation load.

Most points recorded single-digit declines Wednesday, with a few others falling by up to nearly 20 cents. A clean sweep of softening was averted by a few scattered points that ranged from flat to a little more than a dime higher.

Citing forecasts of single-digit system weighted temperatures and below-zero lows at most reporting stations in its market area, Northern Natural Gas issued a System Overrun Limitation that will take effect Thursday for all market-area zones (ABC, D and E/F). It set System Management Services percentages (imbalance tolerances) of 25% for all zones.

El Paso Corp. on Tuesday eliminated what the CEO called the “most significant single long-dated position remaining” in the company’s energy trading business and its only tolling agreement with the sale of the power purchase agreement (PPA) between El Paso Marketing LP and Cordova Energy Co. LLC to Constellation Energy Commodities Group Inc.

The two parent companies of oil major Royal Dutch/Shell Group announced Thursday that they will unify as a single company, Royal Dutch Shell plc, beginning July 20. The two European companies have been listed independently for nearly a century.

Calpine CEO Peter Cartwright said last week that the merchant power company has become the nation’s single largest gas consumer and remains on the lookout for additional gas producing properties to support its growing fleet of power plants.