Widespread

Prices continued to tumble Tuesday as bearish influences remained in play: widespread moderate weather, negative futures guidance and the growing lack of storage space to stash gas not needed for current burns.

Although heat levels weren’t quite as intense or widespread as they had been a week earlier, power generation loads in much of the East and West were still substantial enough to have prices rising at all points Monday. Carry-over support from a 22.9-cent screen gain on Friday also contributed to Monday’s cash strength.

The rise in cash prices — prompted by widespread heat waves and a lengthy string of futures advances — continued Wednesday, but signs were surfacing that Wednesday likely represented the market’s peak this week and softness would be setting in Thursday.

A continuing widespread heat wave and news of a new tropical disturbance east of the central Bahamas proved unable to sustain Wednesday’s overall price increases, resulting in Thursday numbers ranging from flat to down as much as 30 cents. Rockies/Pacific Northwest and California points were most resistant to softening.

With modest increases in cooling load starting to return in sections of the South and West and widespread triple-digit highs continuing to plague the desert Southwest and Midcontinent, a solid majority of points were in rally mode Wednesday. Gains ranged from a couple of pennies at Henry Hub to about 20 cents.

California needs a widespread rearticulation of its policies and programs on natural gas and needs to expand its return to comprehensive energy planning, according to Joseph Desmond, the chairman of the California Energy Commission (CEC), who spoke last Monday at the American Public Power Association (APPA) national meeting in Anaheim, CA.

As an adjunct to comprehensive planning for future electricity supply/demand in the state, California needs a widespread re-articulation of its policies and programs on natural gas, according to Joseph Desmond, California Energy Commission chairman, speaking Monday at the opening session of the three-day American Public Power Association (APPA) national meeting in Anaheim, CA.

In a move that drew widespread local news media attention, the Long Beach, CA, City Council last Tuesday at the last minute postponed until late June a decision on whether to break off two years of negotiations on behalf of its municipal energy department with the sponsors of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in its harbor.

In a move that drew widespread local news media attention, the Long Beach, CA, City Council Tuesday evening at the last minute postponed until late next month a decision on whether to break off two years of negotiations on behalf of its municipal energy department with the sponsors of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in its harbor.