Trancanada

Far from satisfied with the relatively meager returns in the gas pipeline business, TransCanada PipeLines CEO Hal Kvisle said his company plans to spend about $10 billion over the next five years on power generation projects.

TranCanada continued its divestiture program yesterday byreaching an agreement with GDF International, a subsidiary of Gazde France, to sell its Netherlands assets for about C$501 million.TransCanada also expects to see almost C$51 million in proceedsfrom the assets’ activity during the first half of 2000.

In an effort to deal with the serious decontracting problem onits pipeline system caused by the addition of Northern Border’sChicago expansion and the Alliance Pipeline project, TransCanadasaid last week it is strongly considering filing an applicationwith the National Energy Board this month to increase itsinterruptible and short-term firm transportation rates, somethingthe pipeline’s shippers almost certainly will oppose.