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Environmental, solar industry and government officials in California praised a new state rebate program designed to boost solar water heating throughout the service territories of the state’s major private-sector utilities, claiming it will help greatly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and create several thousand new jobs. The new $350 million program attributable to both natural gas and electric water heating was touted as good for the environment and the economy by the author of the state law (AB 1470) that directed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create programs backed by utility ratepayer funds.

Environmental, solar industry and government officials in California praised a new state rebate program designed to boost solar water heating throughout the service territories of the state’s major private-sector utilities, claiming it will help greatly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and create several thousand new jobs. The new $350 million program attributable to both natural gas and electric water heating was touted as good for the environment and the economy by the author of the state law (AB 1470) that directed the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to create programs backed by utility ratepayer funds.

Despite forecasts for severely cold weather throughout most of the East by the beginning of this week, and proliferating anticipatory restrictions by pipelines, prices fell at all points Friday except for Northeast citygates. The well-below-expectations storage withdrawal report a day earlier and the accompanying 28.9-cent futures dive, along with the decline of industrial load over a weekend, obviously outweighed the frigid predictions in the minds of most cash traders.

Shell Energy North America (NA) LP is buying the assets of Enspire Energy LLC, an energy marketer that delivers natural gas to local distribution companies throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Financial details were not disclosed.

A moderate earthquake shook Southern California late Tuesday morning. It was felt throughout the region, but did little significant damage. Local energy utilities reported scattered outages but no major impact on the electricity and natural gas infrastructure.

After breaking above the $13/MMBtu price level on Tuesday, July natural gas futures continued to explore the upside throughout Wednesday. The prompt-month contract climbed an astounding 25.8 cents to finish Wednesday’s regular session at $13.210, backed by low storage injection expectations for the week ended June 13, a $2.67/bbl bump in July crude futures due to Nigerian strike fears and a “couple of distinct waves” traveling in the tropical Atlantic and the Caribbean.

A drop of about a nickel at the PG&E citygate and flat Sumas numbers were the only exceptions to a continuation of rising prices throughout the spot market Wednesday. Although temperatures are fluctuating in some areas, this week’s cold wave in certain regions is proving to be more tenacious than the short-lived ones that dominated the first couple of months of 2008.

In spite of frigid weather remaining in place throughout much of the U.S. and Canada and prior-day screen support having returned the day before, prices were in retreat at most Gulf Coast, Midwest and Northeast points Tuesday. However, the Midcontinent and West continued to advance in nearly all cases, which was hardly surprising considering Wednesday lows are expected to range from the 20s and 30s to single digits in those regions.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is looking for buyers for three sets of properties throughout the Rocky Mountains and another leasehold in the Woodford Shale of Oklahoma.