Thumbs

The proposed Sonoran Pipeline project crossed its first hurdle late last week as potential shippers expressed interest in a significant level of capacity on the proposed 1,030-mile gas pipeline. However, the market seemed to make those hurdles a bit taller as gas prices closed in on $2 in the Rockies and plummeted to nearly $5 at the border.

In separate actions Wednesday, California’s governor and state officials gave a thumbs-up to two new power projects by San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. as the hyperactive merchant generator announced it assumed the development rights for another new plant in the state of Washington where construction will start almost immediately.

FERC yesterday gave Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. the go-ahead to build a lateral in western Pennsylvania to provide direct natural gas service to a new generation plant that is under construction by Liberty Electric Power LLC, which is owned by Orion Power Holdings Inc. in Baltimore.

FERC last week gave Texas Eastern Transmission Corp. the go-ahead to build a lateral in western Pennsylvania to provide direct natural gas service to a new generation plant that is under construction by Liberty Electric Power LLC, which is owned by Orion Power Holdings Inc. in Baltimore.

Allegheny Power of Hagerstown, MD is closer to having 200,000new natural gas customers after getting a thumbs up from theSecurities and Exchange Commission yesterday to acquire MountaineerGas Co., West Virginia’s largest natural gas provider.

Southern Union Co. has gotten a thumbs up from the PennsylvaniaPublic Utility Commission (PPUC) for its pending mergers with threeNortheast utility companies — Fall River Gas Co., ProvidenceEnergy Corp. and Valley Resources Inc. The approval, which comesthree months after Southern Union’s application was first filed, isone of several required before the merger is approved. Still tocome are approvals from utility commissions in Rhode Island,Massachusetts and Missouri, state legislatures and variousregulators in the affected states.

Just days after winning antitrust clearance from the Departmentof Justice (DOJ), the proposed merger of Philadelphia-based PECOEnergy Co. and Unicom Corp. of Chicago, parent of CommonwealthEdison Co., got more good news last week — it sailed through FERCwithout any conditions attached.

Just days after winning anti-trust clearance from the Departmentof Justice (DOJ), the proposed merger of Philadelphia-based PECOEnergy Co. and Unicom Corp. of Chicago, parent of CommonwealthEdison Co., got some more good news yesterday — it sailed throughFERC with no conditions attached.

Michigan citygates and intra-Alberta numbers stuck out like sorethumbs Wednesday in an incremental cash market where all otherpoints were dropping between a nickel and 20 cents. A furtherdecline in the November futures contract combined with continuingmild weather and the perception that Hurricane Mitch is only a veryremote threat to offshore production to cause the cash softness,sources said.