Technologies

Two main players in the gas industry’s e business sector joinedforces yesterday as Altra Energy Technologies and Excelergy Corp.announced an agreement in which Excelergy’s billing and customerinformation software will be marketed along with Altra’s wholesaletrading and risk management products. No financial terms weredisclosed. The venture is currently under way.

After the first full week of trading, Altra Energy Technologies’new online power trading platform, Altrade Power, has been an”absolute” success, the company said last week. The new system,which started service Oct. 14, has already performed transactionstotaling two million MWh.

Altra Energy Technologies Inc., Amerex Power Ltd. and PrebonEnergy Inc. announced the successful launch of Altrade Power, areal-time, online electronic power trading system, provided byAltra Streamline LLC. The launch represents the firstbusiness-to-business e-commerce site to unite new online tradingexchange technology with the strength and reach of the traditionalvoice broker market. Altrade Power went live on Oct. 14. More than210 installed users, out of 450 traders who have already requestedthe system, logged on to complete more than $24 million inwholesale power trades. “With the help of our alliance, traderswill ultimately have instant access to over 700 counterparties atmore than 150 of the industry’s leading trading firms,” saidAltra’s Mark Crosno. “Following the price spikes of 1998 and 1999,the wholesale power market is demanding enhanced tools for moreefficient deal execution. Traders told us they need a single focalpoint for getting their deals done, yet they do not want to give upthe services provided by their voice brokers. Through our alliance,we have answered the market’s demands,” said Amerex’s CareyTurnbull.

Altra Energy Technologies, Inc., announced yesterday that AltraPipeline 5.2 and Altra Exchange 2.0 have been named GISB-compliantby an independent auditor of the Gas Industry Standards Board(GISB). To receive GISB certification, a software product is testedby an independent third-party certifier to determine that specificstandards for EDI data sets and transportation standards set byGISB have been met. The first standards reviewer, Jim Buccigross,was certified last week (see Daily GPI, Oct. 8). Once approved,certified products will be allowed to display the official GISBcertification logo in all product promotions for a period of twoyears. Software products must be recertified for each productupgrade. Altra Pipeline 5.2 provides a suite of software productsthat automate the complex processes involved in transportingnatural gas. Altra Exchange 2.0 is an interface product capable ofsending and receiving GISB data sets mandated by FERC forelectronic data interchange.

Altra Energy Technologies said it set new records for physicallydelivered natural gas and natural gas swaps for the thirdconsecutive month in a row on Aug. 31. On that day, 146 Bcf ofdelivered gas and 135 Bcf of swaps were traded. The previous highwas 132 Bcf for natural gas and 133 Bcf for swaps. David Hanson,Altra’s vice president of gas marketing said greater liquidity andefficiency in the system played a part in increasing transactionintensity.

Avista Power said Tuesday it purchased a 20-acre site inLordsburg, NM from TNP Technologies and plans to put a $70 millionpower plant into service on the acreage by early 2000. The terms ofthe sale were not disclosed. The land contains four oldergenerators, which were in the process of being updated. All permitsand licenses will transfer to Avista Power and the transaction isexpected to close within 60 days.

The recently joined Altra Energy Technologies and QuickTrade LLCposted record gas trading volumes Jan. 28 when their combinedtrading systems reached 30 Bcf in deals. Previous record volumesfor the stand-alone companies when combined were less than 30 Bcf,said Altra Chairman Rusty Braziel

Enron Capital & Trade Resources (ECT) agreed to acquireCogen Technologies’ interests in three power plants for $1.1billion and the assumption of about $350 million in non-recoursedebt. ECT will make the acquisition through a special purposeentity in which ECT will own a 50 percent interest. The entity willinvest up to $130 million in equity, with the balance of thepurchase price funded by non-recourse borrowings provided byfinancial institutions. The transaction is expected to close inearly 1999.

A statewide poll of voting Texans suggests consumers favor gasover costlier non-conventional energy technologies such as solarand wind. Responding to the ninth annual Texas Interested Citizens(TIC) Statewide Poll, conducted in late September, more than halfthe respondents, 56% said they would not be willing to pay more forelectricity produced by solar and wind power.