Track

Enough’s enough, shippers and customers of El Paso Natural Gas told FERC Friday in requesting fast-track processing of a complaint requesting immediate mandatory expansion of the pipeline and a change in its contracting practices to convert unlimited full requirements obligations to set contract demand pacts.

As work moved forward Tuesday on two new power sources to come on later this summer, the outlook in the immediate two months darkened with no apparent comprehensive solutions emerging from the state legislature.

Alberta Energy Company (AEC) reported rapid gas production growth last week and record earnings. The company is on the fast track to becoming one of the largest gas companies in North America. Within the last year, AEC’s gas production has increased by nearly 500 MMcf/d and new drilling prospects are expected to continue that growth.

Alberta Energy Company is on the fast track to becoming one of the largest gas companies in North America. Within the last year the company’s gas production has increased by nearly 500 MMcf/d and new drilling prospects are expected to continue that rapid growth.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), on track to begin its pilot deregulation program in 5% of the state June 1, issued a progress report to the Texas Public Utility Commission this week, reporting that it now is finalizing megawatt registrations for generators that will serve the state. Conversion remains on schedule for the pilot, with transition to a fully deregulated market by January 2002.

PG&E Corp.’s recent billion-dollar re-financing loan andother moves by its counterparts at Southern California Edison Co.will not stop the two from trying to work out a deal with the statethat includes the sale of their transmission assets and assurancesof providing long-term power supplies at below market prices. Butthere are doubts about whether the financial community will befavorably impressed by the deal.

Except for OFO-inspired upticks in Northern California, the restof the cash market was on a downhill track Tuesday following theholiday weekend. Most declines were in the range of 20-30 cents,but tended to be larger in the Northeast and got as high as about70 cents at the Southern California border.

Amid concerns about the potential track of Hurricane Keith and with help from strong natural gas, crude oil and heating oil futures, cash prices emerged from a generally softer weekend to register widely varying gains at nearly all points Monday.

The swing market maintained an upward track Wednesday, butmomentum slowed with increases of a dime or less at most points.Sources reported little change from Tuesday in October numbers asemphasis began shifting more toward bidweek.