Twist

In an ironic twist of fate, California lawmakers have succeeded in deterring construction of new generation at the same time they are trying to solve their state’s energy shortage. Mirant Corp. said on Friday it will delay construction on its approved 530 MW expansion at its Contra Costa power plant because of market uncertainty. The plant received its permit May 29.

With a twist of irony that made even the most seasoned traders shake their heads, natural gas futures rebounded strongly yesterday afternoon, just moments after fresh storage data was released showing that the year-on-year storage deficit has finally been eliminated. With that the market broke a string of seven-straight Wednesday losses as traders propelled the new prompt month July contract up 17.1 cents to close at $3.981.

Yukon Pacific Corp. has come up with a “slightly new twist tosupplement” its long-standing project to supply Asian markets withAlaskan liquefied natural gas (LNG), and in fact company executiveswere in Mexico yesterday to sound out officials there about it.

Scana Corp. dusted off its Carolina’s interstate gas pipelineproject yesterday and added a new twist to the concept. It hassigned an agreement with DFI Group Inc., a Raleigh, NC, developer,to evaluate the feasibility of constructing three proposed ethanolproduction facilities in eastern North Carolina that would beserved by the pipeline. The proposed system also might be used todeliver gas to several new gas-fired power plants and could serveas a conduit for fiber optic cable. The proposed projects wereannounced yesterday by North Carolina Governor James Hunt andScana.