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For the fourth session in a row yesterday natural gas futuresopened lower and came under immediate downward pressure as tradersgrappled with warm weather forecasts. However, after notching a$2.81 low during the first hour of trading the December contractwas led higher by a combination of local and trade buying. Theprompt contract finished the day down 7.7 cents at $2.837.

The electricity restructuring legislation that survived markupby the House Energy and Power Subcommittee last Wednesday is ashell of the bill that was sponsored by Chairman Joe Barton (R-TX),energy industry lobbyists say.

FERC staff has begun sending out letters to pipelines askingthem to explain how their proposed projects will square with thenew policy statement that favors incremental pricing. NorthernBorder Pipeline Co. — the first pipe to receive such a letter —made clear its disdain for the pricing policy in its response.

FERC staff has begun sending out letters to pipelines askingthem to explain how their proposed projects will square with thenew policy statement that favors incremental pricing. NorthernBorder Pipeline Co. – the first pipe to receive a letter – madeclear its disdain for the pricing policy in its response last week.

Kinder Morgan and KN Energy announced the completion of theirmerger. The company has been renamed Kinder Morgan, Inc. and willtrade under the New York Stock Exchange symbol “KMI.” The $900million merger was announced last July.

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Y2K contingency plan to havetransportation nominations for the first seven days of the new yearsubmitted in advance by Dec. 28 has caused concern among some ofits shippers.

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Y2K contingency plan to havetransportation nominations for the first seven days of the new yearsubmitted in advance by Dec. 28 has caused concern among some ofits shippers.

With the total number of open positions on its Waha futurescontract languishing under 400, the Kansas City Board of Trade hastaken measures that could signal the end of that contract as itcurrently exists. The exchange is in discussions withPG&E-Texas, the owner of the Waha hub, over potentialramifications of a switch to a basis contract tied to Nymex’s HenryHub futures contract.

Buoyed by strong demand for physical supplies and aggressivebuying under last week’s price chart gap, the natural gas futuresmarket continued to whittle away at last week’s collapse. Theremaining three months of the millennium received almost equalbuying interest Tuesday, with October, November and Decemberadvancing 11.6, 11.9, and 11.6 cents respectively. Estimated volumewas hefty, with 81,210 contracts changing hands.