The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted out a final rule Wednesday that will require regulated natural gas and electric companies to provide full disclosure to the agency about their use of derivative instruments for hedging and trading activities. By its action, the Commission said it hopes to keep closer tabs on an energy industry that has been rocked by numerous scandals during the past year.
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Reliant Reaffirms 2002 Guidance; Spin-off a Priority
Coming off a tough month in which the company admitted that 10% of its energy trading revenues over the past three years came from “round-trip” transactions (see NGI, May 20), Reliant Resources CEO Steve Letbetter last week told the investment community that the company still expects to hit its 2002 earnings target of $1.80-2.00.
NRG Energy Pulls Out of Deal to Buy Conectiv Generating Assets
Market changes and tough capital market conditions prompted NRG Energy Inc. to cancel plans last week to buy 794 MW of power generation from Conectiv subsidiary Atlantic City Electric Co.
TransCanada Faces Tough Fight Over Sharp Toll Hikes
Natural gas shippers face extra costs of C$275 million (US$172 million) per year as a result of proposals by TransCanada PipeLines, according to calculations by an irate Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. In written preliminaries for hearings before the National Energy Board that promise to be long and hot after they start Feb. 19, CAPP calls TransCanada’s financial requests “grossly excessive.” Other protesters, while more diplomatic, are also firm — including Mirant Canada Energy Marketing Ltd.
TransCanada Faces Tough Fight Over Sharp Toll Hikes
Natural-gas shippers face extra costs of C$275 million (US$172 million) per year as a result of proposals by TransCanada PipeLines, according to calculations by an irate Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. In written preliminaries for hearings before the National Energy Board that promise to be long and hot after they start Feb. 19, CAPP calls TransCanada’s financial requests “grossly excessive.” Other protesters, while more diplomatic, are also firm — including Mirant Canada Energy Marketing Ltd.
Futures Bounce Back as Bulls Regain Control
Dallas Cowboy fans are not alone. It has been a tough month ofSundays for natural gas bear traders as they have been forced towatch Friday’s downward price momentum gradually lose steam duringSunday evening Access trading, setting the stage for a pricerecovery when the regular open-outcry session re-opens Monday.
Storage Bulls Find Tough Going In July
After being thwarted in repeated attempts to punch through the$4.23 level during the first hour of trading, natural gas bullsturned in their horns Friday, giving way to light sellingthroughout the rest of the session. Limited to an extremely tight,7-cent range for the day, the August contract slipped 1.6 cents tofinish the week at $4.15.
TXU Told to Remove Poly 1 Pipe by December
The Texas Railroad Commission last week voted to approve toughpipeline safety proposals that include targeting one of the largestutilities in the state – TXU Energy. The TRC voted unanimously torequire TXU to have all segments of its polyethylene 1 pipe out ofthe ground by December.
TXU Told to Remove Poly 1 Pipe by December
The Texas Railroad Commission yesterday voted to approve toughpipeline safety proposals that include targeting one of the largestutilities in the state – TXU Energy. The TRC voted unanimously torequire TXU to have all segments of its polyethylene 1 pipe out ofthe ground by December.
Despite Tough Times, Marketing Has Room to Grow
Merger turmoil and tight margins are putting the screws to quitea few energy marketers, but Frost & Sullivan still sees plentyof room for the industry to grow. Several of the top-20 marketersof 1998 have exited the market, while other companies have beenspurred to acquire assets and start online trading, according to arecent study by the group.