Specifically

California regulators Thursday approved modifications that Southern California Edison Co. (SCE) sought in its projected fuel costs for 2009 and specifically regarding the handling of tolling rights under the Sempra Energy utilities’ firm access rights (FAR) to its natural gas transmission pipeline system in the southern half of the state.

CIG implemented a Strained Operating Condition (SOC) Wednesday that it expected to remain in effect “through the end of September, unless specifically terminated sooner.” Storage inventories are at or near reservoir guidelines, CIG said, and thus its “ability to absorb imbalances caused by mismatches between scheduled receipts and deliveries or those imbalances arising from variations in actual gas flow from scheduled quantities is extremely limited.” The limitation includes capacity to handle storage injections in excess of each customer’s Available Daily Injection Quantity or inventory levels above Maximum Available Capacity. During the effective period of the SOC capacity for interruptible storage injections will not be available, CIG said.

Although the global landscape is still unsettled for energy, and specifically liquefied natural gas (LNG), opportunities will continue to develop, and Sempra Energy has the right mix of trading, infrastructure development, operating and risk management skills to take advantage of whatever opportunities arise, said Sempra COO Neal Schmale, speaking at a company-hosted financial analysts meeting Thursday in San Diego. Sempra raised its 2007 earnings-per-share guidance to $3.75-3.95.

El Paso Corp. said last week that it intends to get out of all its noncore businesses and pay down debt quicker in hopes of hitting net income of up to $750 million in 2006. The announcement Thursday followed news earlier in the week that the company had a net loss of more than $1 billion last year.

Tennessee has scheduled about 12 hours of pigging activity March 8 on part of its Blue Water System offshore Louisiana. Specifically, Line #523M-100 will be pigged from Vermilion 245 to Ship Shoal 198. Only a Shell Oil meter (#012435) will be shut in during the work, but other meters in the area likely will experience higher than normal pressures, Tennessee said.

Despite a third straight triple-digit weekly storage injection (114 Bcf), natural gas futures surged Thursday in three distinct waves of short-covering and speculative buying. When the dust had settled and the orders counted at Nymex, the numbers were impressive: July natural gas futures rose 36 cents to close at $5.941, just off its new one-week high of $5.95. In contrast to the first three trading days of this week, volume at Nymex was heavy Thursday, with an estimated 92,607 contracts changing hands.

KeySpan Corp.’s gas distribution side posted a slightly larger seasonal loss in the third quarter compared to last year and a drop in exploration and production (E&P) earnings from its 67% ownership in Houston Exploration Co. The Brooklyn, NY-based company’s electric operations, meanwhile, were the star performer, leading to third-quarter consolidated earnings from operations, after subtracting for preferred stock dividends, of $3.6 million, or three cents a share.

As part of its affidavit on price-manipulation practices in western energy markets, PacifiCorp has turned over to FERC a “sampling” of audio-taped transactions to corroborate claims that may have been an unknowing “intermediary” in a number of “ricochet” trades with third-party energy companies during the latter half of 2000.

Chairman designate Pat Wood III is looking for a few good energy executives to teach him and his FERC colleagues the ins and outs of the natural gas and electricity markets, specifically how to detect when something “smelly” is taking place.