Special

Georgia Natural Gas is offering a special fixed rate of 74.9 cents per therm for retail customers signing up for its 12-Month Fixed Rate Plan during October. In addition, GNG’s variable market price for October is 74.9 cents per therm, a 9% decrease from a month ago and the lowest market price currently available, the company said. GNG said lower wholesale prices in response to rising storage inventories allowed the company to offer lower fixed rates.

A senior economist at the DC Public Service Commission (PSC) warned in a special assessment last week that expensive stored gas this summer probably will mean much higher gas prices for consumers this winter. In addition, the summer and the hurricane season may have more surprises in store.

New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved a special rate plan for New Jersey Natural Gas Co.’s (NJNG) residential and commercial customers who use natural gas to fuel distributed generation technologies. Under the new rate offering, an average commercial customer could save up to 50% and a residential customer could save up to a 40% on delivery charges for natural gas used to power the small generation units, the utility said.

The federal investigation into Enron Corp.’s numerous special purpose entities (SPE) has stumbled upon the question of whether investors also were misled about the value of the company’s natural gas pipelines and power plants, according to a report in The New York Times Thursday.

With an initial investigation of several special purpose entities (SPEs) used by Enron Corp. completed, the court-appointed examiner now will carefully scrutinize “a number of significant questions” about the complex off-balance-sheet transactions, including what role they played in the company’s collapse, whether they were illegally used to manipulate financial statements, and if the SPEs were illegal, whether the officers, directors or professionals involved may be liable.

With an initial investigation of several special purpose entities (SPEs) used by Enron Corp. completed, the court-appointed examiner now will carefully scrutinize “a number of significant questions” about the complex off-balance-sheet transactions, including what role they played in the company’s collapse, whether they were illegally used to manipulate financial statements, and if the SPEs were illegal, whether the officers, directors or professionals involved may be liable.

El Paso Energy Partners LP said Thursday it has received clearance from its board and a special conflicts committee to purchase a range of midstream assets from El Paso Corp. for an estimated $782 million. The crown jewel is El Paso’s vast natural gas gathering network in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico.

El Paso Energy Partners LP said Thursday it has received clearance from its board and a special conflicts committee to purchase a range of midstream assets from El Paso Corp. for an estimated $782 million. The crown jewel is El Paso’s vast natural gas gathering network in the San Juan Basin in New Mexico.

The special California state Senate investigative committee last Thursday announced it will subpoena Enron Corp.’s former CEO Jeff Skilling and two other former executives from the company this week to appear at a hearing in Sacramento April 3. Following approval by the year-old Select Committee to Investigate Price Manipulation in the Wholesale Energy Market this week, the subpoenas are expected to be served Monday, according to a committee staff member.