Southward

Forecasts of sub-freezing lows Thursday from the Northeast southward into the Southeast and westward through the Midwest/Midcontinent into the Plains and Rockies resulted in more market strength Wednesday than a day earlier. However, it offered another demonstration of the fact that widespread heating load does not necessarily translate into much higher gas prices.

Chesapeake Utilities Corp. announced plans to extend its gas distribution system southward into Sussex County, DE, from the town of Milford to Milton in early 2006. “The expansion will allow us to provide natural gas as an energy choice to planned residential developments, as well as nearby residential, commercial and industrial customers who will benefit from another fuel option,” said Stephen C. Thompson, senior vice president for the utility. Chesapeake’s Delaware and Maryland natural gas distribution systems serve more than 42,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in the southern portion of New Castle County, Kent County and parts of Sussex County in Delaware, as well as parts of Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Thompson added that Chesapeake’s expansion supports Delaware’s recently-adopted energy policy, which calls for enhancing the availability of natural gas in areas that don’t have it as a fuel option today.