Cinergy Corp. said yesterday it expects to take a $57 millionafter-tax charge ($0.36 per share) on July earnings because it hadto pay exorbitant prices in the wholesale market to maintaindeliveries during a period of peak demand in late July. The chargealso includes $16 million to settle damage claims related toCinergy’s defaults on several power marketing agreements.
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Southern Fails to Delay Southwest-Oneok Merger
Southern Union’s plan to take its merger proposal straight toSouthwest Gas shareholders was dismantled Monday, as SouthernUnion’s two court actions intended on delaying the merger betweenSouthwest and Oneok were rejected. Southwest Gas shareholders areexpected to vote in favor of the merger today. Southern Uniondeclined to comment.
Screen Rests, But Cash Market Remains on Fire
The screen may have decided to take a breather Monday afterflexing its muscles so impressively last week, but the heated cashmarket showed no signs of settling down. Western quotes stagedtheir by-now-familiar retaking of ground lost over the weekend, andthis time they actually shared in the general bull market by risingin greater amounts than they had fallen on the previous Friday.Eastern points, on the other hand, continued to build on the upwardtrend they had seen all of last week.
Transportation Notes
El Paso will take the Gallup (NM) Station’s B turbine down forsix hours today to calibrate fuel controls. Capacity out of SanJuan Basin will be reduced by 80 MMcf/d for today’s gas day only.
LG&E Picks Up Leading Pipeline Construction Co.
LG&E Energy Corp. positioned itself to take advantage of theexpanding pipeline construction industry last Friday by purchasingCRC Holdings Corp., parent of the pipeline construction equipmentcompany CRC-Evans Pipeline International, for a total of $83.5million. The deal closed last Friday. No layoffs are expected.
LG&E Picks Up Leading Pipeline Construction Co.
LG&E Energy Corp. positioned itself to take advantage of theexpanding pipeline construction industry last week by purchasingCRC Holdings Corp., parent of the pipeline construction equipmentcompany CRC-Evans Pipeline International, for a total of $83.5million. The deal closed on Friday. No layoffs are expected.
Columbia Tells NiSource To Hit the Road, Again
Columbia Energy Group’s (CG) board once again told NiSource, inno uncertain terms, to take a hike last week and urged CGshareholders to reject NiSource’s $68/share ($5.7 billion) hostiletakeover offer. NiSource took its offer to shareholders June 25 andsaid it will continue to fight for the deal. It had no tally ofshares tendered as of last week but said numbers would be availablesoon.
Columbia Tells NiSource to Hit the Road, Again
Columbia Energy Group’s (CG) board once again told NiSource, inno uncertain terms, to take a hike yesterday and urged CGshareholders to reject NiSource’s $68/share ($5.7 billion) hostiletakeover offer. NiSource took its offer to shareholders June 25 andsaid it will continue to fight for the deal. It had no tally ofshares tendered as of yesterday but said numbers would be availableby the weekend.
Chevron Makes Deeper Job Cuts, Warns Investors
Chevron Corp. warned investors last week that its second quarterearnings will take a hit from severance costs related to 2,500 jobcuts and a recent fire at its Richmond, CA, refinery.
New Commissioners Quietly Take Seats on CPUC
With no notice and little fanfare-not even a press release-theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission got back to full strengthwith two “temporary” appointees, both holding existing appointivepositions in Gov. Gray Davis’ first-year administration. Indicativeof the seemingly low profile Gov. Davis is giving energy issues,the new commissioners were rushed onboard the five-membercommission June 3 so they could participate in some controversialtelecommunications cases.