Thereafter

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) last Friday approved a settlement agreement allowing Equitable Resources Inc. to buy Dominion Peoples. But shortly thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed in federal court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the $970 million acquisition.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Friday approved a settlement agreement allowing Equitable Resources Inc. to buy Dominion Peoples. But shortly thereafter, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed in federal court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the $970 million acquisition.

Noting unseasonably mild conditions being predicted in its market area for the upcoming weekend and several days thereafter, Transco said effective with Friday’s gas day until further notice it will not allow any excess storage injections under Rate Schedules WSS, WSS-OA or GSS, nor will it allow any due-pipeline imbalance paybacks. Also, pool tolerances were to be reduced to 1% starting with Evening Cycle nominations for Friday, and the pipeline is barring any incremental Park service quantities and the payback of any Loans under Rate Schedule PAL (Park and Loan).

Shares of Allegheny Energy jumped more than 15% on Friday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the troubled power company is closing in on an agreement with its creditors that would remove the threat of bankruptcy looming over Allegheny in recent months. The stock also became too hard to resist for investors after several investment firms upgraded their ratings on shares of Allegheny.

Mountain Energy Corp., the Midwest gas marketer that has been besieged by lawsuits and a petition seeking to force it into bankruptcy, last week notified its customers in Kansas and Missouri that it will stop supplying them with natural gas after Oct. 31.