State

National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Empire State Pipelinereported yesterday that natural gas service is available at a newpipeline interconnection located in Pendelton, NY, in NiagaraCounty. The interconnection includes four miles of 16-inch pipe aswell as regulation and flow control facilities designed totransport up to 150 MMcf/d onto National Fuel’s Line X. The systemwill allow gas supply from Canada at the Chippawa import point toflow to the Buffalo, NY market as well as to National Fuel’sinterconnects with Tennessee Gas Pipeline at East Aurora, NY, andEllisburg, PA; Dominion Transmission at Ellisburg; andTranscontinental Pipeline and Texas Eastern Pipeline at Leidy, PA.Shippers with interest in capacity from Chippawa to the newinterconnect with National Fuel at Pendleton can call SharonAngle-Karry with Empire at 713-418-4105, or shippers with interestin capacity on National Fuel from the new interconnect with Empirecan call George Linder with National Fuel at 716-857-7105.

The New York State Public Service Commission has acted to eitherfreeze or decrease the distribution portion of charges to naturalgas customers of Niagara Mohawk Power through Aug. 31, 2003 as partof a multi-year rate and restructuring plan.

In response to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities’ rulingthis week on rate increases for three utilities in the state,Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G) releasedsuggestions for how its $1.6 million natural gas customers canconserve energy and manage bills.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Tony Garza warned the statelegislature and the Texas Congressional delegation last week of anexpected 55% increase in natural gas prices this winter for smallcustomers and the expected continuation of high prices for the nextyear to 18 months.

Texas Railroad Commissioner Tony Garza warned the statelegislature and governor yesterday of an expected 55% increase innatural gas prices this winter for small customers and the expectedcontinuation of high prices for the next year to 18 months.

Accusing the state’s utilities of unlawfully billing customers,the Industrial Energy Users-Ohio and the Ohio ManufacturersAssociation went to court this week to prevent the Public UtilitiesCommission of Ohio from imposing extra charges for a low-incomecustomer assistance program.

The California Electricity Oversight Board has called on FERC toorder the state Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO) to maintainexisting bid caps on wholesale energy, ancillary services andreplacement reserves until the Commission completes its probe ofthe California bulk market, initiates reforms and finds the marketsto be “workably competitive.”

Renowned hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray and his team ofsoothsayers at Colorado State University have scaled back theirforecast made in early June for the 2000 hurricane season, butstill expect it to be more active than average.

Renowned hurricane soothsayer Dr. William Gray and his team atColorado State University have scaled back their forecast for thehurricane season but still expect the season to be more active thanaverage. Seven rather than eight hurricanes are expected now andonly three of them are expected to be intense rather than the fourexpected in the group’s prior forecast on June 7. In round numbers,the August forecast is for three named storms, two hurricanes, andone intense or major hurricane.