Thursday

Brad Karp, president of Duke Energy Trading and Marketing, tolda group of producers in Houston Thursday that his company is prettybullish on the gas price outlook long term.

Crossroads Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Nipsco Industries, saidThursday its open season to test shipper interest in the CrossroadsPipeline expansion exceeded the company’s expectations. Companiesexpressed interest in over 600,000 Dth/d for the proposedinterconnect. The open season for the Crossroads expansion beganFebruary 16 and ended March 31.

Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening signed an electric restructuringbill and related tax measures into law last Thursday less than aweek after the Maryland General Assembly passed the legislation.The new law will phase in residential customer choice over athree-year period beginning with one-third of residential customersJuly 1, 2000. Residential customers choosing to keep their utilityas supplier would get rate cuts of 3% to 7.5% to be determined bythe Public Service Commission. The rate cuts would last four yearsand then rates would be deregulated.

Crossroads Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of Nipsco Industries, said Thursday its open season to test shipper interest in the Crossroads Pipeline expansion exceeded the company’s expectations. Companies expressed interest in over 600,000 Dth/d for the proposed interconnect. The open season for the Crossroads expansion began February 16 and ended March 31.

Equitable Gas Co. filed a gas cost adjustment with thePennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) Thursday which, ifapproved, will result in a 9% reduction in customers’ monthlybills. The rate cuts would be effective Oct. 1. The PUC did notdisclose when it would review the filing.

El Paso’s Waha GE will be down for emergency maintenance at 6p.m. today through Thursday, March 25, for field gas compressorbearing replacement.

Prices continued to slump Friday by approximately the samedegree as they had Thursday. Declines for weekend flow ranged fromas little as a couple of cents to almost a dime, with most in theneighborhood of a nickel. Another screen drop was the maininfluence on cash, sources said, and even the forecasts of a newwinter storm developing over the weekend weren’t enough to avertmore softening.

The usual suspects are at it again, as Pennsylvania Rep. Frank Tulli (R-106) and Sen. Frank Piccola (R-15) reintroduced a gas deregulation bill last Thursday. Their previous attempt to deregulate service to small commercial and residential customers failed to pass in Pennsylvania’s legislature last fall. Unlike the last try, however, this legislation is supported by a natural gas gross receipt tax (GRT) cut proposal from Governor Tom Ridge, enabling the bill to jump a large hurdle it was unable to overcome last time around (See NGI, Feb. 1).

A storage report considered bearish by most traders set thestage for softness in the cash market Thursday, then a plungingfutures screen virtually guaranteed cash declines. Sure enough,nearly every point fell between 5 and 8 cents. “We’re just tradingdown with the screen,” said a Western marketer.