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In what appears to be a trend toward issuing stock in generationsubsidiaries, Southern Company’s CEO A.W. “Bill” Dahlberg announcedthat he will seek approval from the board of directors tocompletely spin-off the company’s Southern Energy subsidiary.

In what appears to be a trend toward issuing stock in generationsubsidiaries, Southern Company’s CEO A.W. “Bill” Dahlberg announcedthat he will seek approval from the board of directors tocompletely spin-off the company’s Southern Energy subsidiary.

It’s been a long wait, but traders are finally seeing what theysaid was needed to spark a turnaround in a sagging gas market:genuinely substantial cold weather approaching a major market area.That and continued, albeit moderate, support from the Decemberfutures contract generated cash price increases Thursday rangingfrom a nickel or less in the Rockies and California to between anickel and about 15 cents in the Southwest, Gulf Coast,Midcontinent, Midwest and Appalachia.

What do you get when you mix larger-than-expected supply newswith shoulder-month demand and a bearish weather outlook? If youanswered a double-digit price decline then you would have mademoney yesterday in the gas pit at Nymex. In a bearish one-two combothat will not soon be forgotten by bull nor bear, natural gasfutures tumbled lower yesterday afternoon amid an array of negativefundamental factors. Plumbing its lowest level since Aug. 28, theNovember contract slipped 16.1 cents to close at $4.659. Meanwhile,the winter strip suffered a 16.4-cent setback to finish at $4.647.

The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC)followed much of what it included in its draft approval in giving itsfinal approval last week on Consolidated Edison’s (CEI) acquisition ofNortheast Utilities (NU), and just like the draft approval, neithercompany was happy with the department’s findings (see Daily GPI, Sept. 26).

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. wants to buy or lease another U.S.natural gas storage facility, but is remaining mum on what regionit is targeting and which companies it may be negotiating with. CEOGwyn Morgan would only say last week that his company isnegotiating to buy a storage unit for less than C$100 million, andhopes to complete the deal before year’s end.

Alberta Energy Co. Ltd. wants to buy or lease another U.S. natural gas storage facility, but is remaining mum on what region it is targeting and which companies it may be negotiating with. CEO Gwyn Morgan would only say last week that his company is negotiating to buy a storage unit for less than C$100 million, and hopes to complete the deal before year’s end.

Most of what was lost in spot market pricing on Monday wasrather quietly regained yesterday, as storage buying started tokick back in and the weather situation in the Gulf of Mexico onceagain looked ominous, with the possibility of another tropicalstorm or two developing.

What do you get when you mix a bull market near its all-timehigh with a potential tropical storm and a large storage refill? Ifyou answered one heck of a 24-hour trading period then you were notalone yesterday as natural gas futures traders experienced atrading day that saw four distinct buying surges and onegut-wrenching sell-off.