Sort

In order to sort out historical alignment issues in the rare year — such as 2004 — when there are 53 weekly natural gas storage reports instead of the usual 52 (see Daily GPI, Jan. 7), the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday that beginning with the report for the week ending Jan. 7, it has implemented a daily interpolated average approach of calculating the year-ago and five-year average statistics.

In order to sort out historical alignment issues in the rare year — such as 2004 — when there are 53 weekly natural gas storage reports instead of the usual 52 (see NGI, Jan. 10), the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Thursday that beginning with the report for the week ended Jan. 7, it has implemented a daily interpolated average approach of calculating the year-ago and five-year average statistics.

Although no one can tell what sort of business it will be, Enron Corp. traders are expected to begin work soon under their UBS Warburg Energy banner “NetCo” once the Swiss-based investment banker officially takes over. The deal is scheduled to close as early as this week, but it still may be several weeks before actual trading can begin.

As if its plate weren’t already full, “the market” received another East-bound pipeline project to “sort out” with the announcement of El Paso Energy’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Consolidated Natural Gas’ CNG Transmission Atlantic Alliance Project. Atlantic Alliance would transport up to 750,000 Dth/d from the Chicago market center and the Niagara Import Point in upstate New York into eastern markets.

While five of seven midwestern states have choice programs forresidential gas customers, that doesn’t mean an energy shoppingtrend is sweeping the heartland. In fact, as is the case with therest of the country, regulators, utilities, marketers and end-usershave miles to go before competition really sets in.