Thumbs

San Diego-based Brandes Investment Partners LLC, which owns 6% of the common shares of El Paso, said on Friday it will vote to keep the current board of directors. On May 31, Brandes owned nearly 36 million shares of the company, however some of its clients retain voting discretion.

A recent legislative proposal floated by Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) that would allow states to coordinate their own regional transmission and market designs through so-called regional energy services commissions (RESC) drew a bevy of skeptical comments from several electric industry representatives at a Senate hearing on Thursday.

NUI Corp. reported that the Virginia Corporation Commission has granted it a certificate for expansion of a natural gas storage facility located in Saltville, VA. NUI said the new storage capacity is key to its energy hub strategy. The 6.2 Bcf facility will be connected to the East Tennessee Natural Gas mainline and the P-25 pipeline system of Virginia Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of NUI. Virginia Gas currently controls 1.1 Bcf of high deliverability storage capacity in an existing storage cavern at Saltville.

NUI Corp. reported that the Virginia Corporation Commission has granted it a certificate for expansion of a natural gas storage facility located in Saltville, VA. NUI said the new storage capacity is key to its energy hub strategy. The 6.2 Bcf facility will be connected to the East Tennessee Natural Gas mainline and the P-25 pipeline system of Virginia Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of NUI. Virginia Gas currently controls 1.1 Bcf of high deliverability storage capacity in an existing storage cavern at Saltville.

With an unambiguous thumbs-up from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rendered in a record short time of about three months, Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. is stepping up settlement discussions with key groups of industrial customers, consumers and regulators in Oregon, leading to an expected final state regulatory approval of its proposed merger with Portland General Electric by the end of May.

With an unambiguous thumbs-up from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rendered in a record short time of about three months, Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. is stepping up settlement discussions with key groups of industrial customers, consumers and regulators in Oregon, leading to an expected final state regulatory approval of its proposed merger with Portland General Electric by the end of May.

PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest Corp. got the thumbs-up from FERC yesterday to expand the capacity of its system in the Pacific Northwest by 210,800 Dth/d on an annual firm basis.

It now appears less likely that El Paso Natural Gas will be placing new bi-directional gas transportation capacity between Daggett, CA, and Ehrenberg, AZ, to facilitate increased in-state California transportation options. The pipeline intended to use portions of the converted All American pipeline to increase capacity between the two major western market locations, but a binding open season revealed insufficient market interest, El Paso said in a bulletin board notice.

It now appears less likely that El Paso Natural Gas will be placing new bi-directional gas transportation capacity between Daggett, CA, and Ehrenberg, AZ, to facilitate increased in-state California transportation options. The pipeline intended to use portions of the converted All American pipeline to increase capacity between the two major western market locations, but a binding open season revealed insufficient market interest, El Paso said in a bulletin board notice.