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It’s getting hot again in the Southwest and even chillier in the Midwest and Upper Plains. Those fundamental weather boosts, along with increased interest in storage buying while prices are still relatively low, were enough to generate a rally throughout most of the cash market Monday, despite lingering power outages and/or mild weather dampening demand in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

State commissioners have joined the ranks of those touting the wonders of imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), noting the importance of increasing natural gas supplies, passed a resolution at its summer meeting last Wednesday encouraging cooperation of state and federal agencies in the siting of LNG regasification terminals.

The energy and utilities sectors are among those where the pressure remains to effect “real” debt reduction in what likely will be a “quarter-in, quarter-out” battle, according to a new report by CreditSights analysts. The report found an 85% escalation in debt in the energy sector over the past four years — among the highest for the sectors — largely driven by the last few years of consolidation.

The energy and utilities sectors are among those where the pressure remains to effect “real” debt reduction in what likely will be a “quarter-in, quarter-out” battle, according to a new report by CreditSights analysts. The report found an 85% escalation in debt in the energy sector over the past four years — among the highest for the sectors — largely driven by the last few years of consolidation.

MRT said a System Protection Warning will become effective at the start of Friday’s gas day. The warning’s conditions are identical to those of one posted on Christmas Eve (see Daily GPI, Dec. 24, 2002).

Northeast citygates were solidly topping $6 Monday while those in the Midwest edged their way above $5 in a continuing show of strength by the cash market. Only the Rockies lagged behind with minuscule gains, while the rest of the market measured its advance in double digits that exceeded 20 cents in most cases and approached a dollar at Transco Zone 6-New York City.

With Canada already around freezing and sending those semi-arctic conditions south of the border, traders braced for a week of cold with price upticks Monday that were fairly moderate, around a dime or less in a majority of instances. But the Rockies market continued its torrid pace from last week with further spikes, and was joined in double-digit gains by San Juan Basin, Pacific Northwest and Western Canada points and some Northeast citygates.

FERC late Thursday said that it is launching an investigation as a result of allegations that former Enron CFO Andrew Fastow and Enron executive Michael Kopper created partnerships to mask the former energy trading giant’s stake in three wind power farms.

Independent producer Burlington Resources Inc. offered some good news last week for those energy professionals yearning for the “good old days” — it expects to have annual production growth of 3-8% a year over the next three or four years, based on its high-quality reserves and Canadian acquisitions. CEO Bobby Shackouls said Burlington is moving away from flat growth by shedding low-quality, quickly declining assets, a process that is “almost finished.”