Staid

Last week may prove memorable for what it wasn’t, as much as for what it was, when it came to energy companies and the New York Stock Exchange. It was a miserable week, all in all, with the only bright edges seen on Friday, when the shares of most of the merchants and utilities saw a little daylight. Wary investors may have hedged their bets a little, because energy stocks were lower overall than they’ve been in years.

Swing prices ranged from flat to down about a nickel at most points Tuesday, as the market began to lose some of the cold weather that had kept numbers relatively firm in comparison to a plunging screen the day before. Some San Juan/Rockies/Pacific Northwest points achieved moderate gains, but CIG, Cheyenne Hub and Questar were retreating to sub-$1 levels again, in response to the region’s general supply glut combined with limited storage injection options.

Fearing that it might be growing dusty and staid, FERC earlierthis month kicked off a three-month, all-encompassing review of itsprocedures and processes “to try and keep current with the times,including a very changing energy marketplace that we regulate,”Chairman James Hoecker said.