Winter

While winter continues to grip Michigan, Detroit Edison alreadyis preparing for summer peak electricity demand. The company toldthe Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) it has taken a seriesof steps to keep its growing customer base cool during thescorching days of Summer 2000 when demand for electricity isexpected to reach record levels.

A winter storm sweeping through the South, along with freezingtemperatures expected to last through the weekend in much of theU.S. from the Rockies eastward, resulted in rising prices at nearlyall points Friday.

Fueled by the East’s worst winter storm in four years, naturalgas futures erupted higher at the open yesterday as tradersestablished new longs with confidence.

It is often said markets can fall twice as fast as they rise,and that has never been more evident than it was in the natural gasfutures market over the past two weeks. After all, what took bullsfive and a half days to produce, took the bears just two and a halfto knock down. With a 7.8-cent decline to settle at $2.444, theJanuary contract was 26 cents below Monday’s highs and 0.2 centsbelow its Dec. 10 settle.

Despite the coldest weather of the season, the futures markettumbled lower yesterday as traders relieved technical overboughtconditions by unloading new long positions. Cash prices, whichslipped for only the second time in eight trading sessions, werealso seen as a negative factor. After opening near the bottom ofMonday’s wide trading range, bears wasted little time takingJanuary down 10.7 cents to settle at $2.522.

With signs that the touch of winter experienced earlier thisweek in the Northeast was already starting to subside, nearly allof the cash market ranged from flat to about a dime lowerWednesday. Most production area and Midwest citygate points fell bya nickel or less. The declines of a dime or more tended to clusterin the Northeast.

While it remains to be seen whether winter will show up thisyear, gas customer choice programs are very much with the industryright now. Programs in Maryland, Michigan and Washington, DC, areunder way. On the electric side of customer choice, two pilots havejust been kicked off in Texas.

Union Gas announced the availability of 2 Bcf of peak storage atthe Dawn Market Hub. The storage permits summer 1999 injection and1999-2000 winter withdrawal. The storage capacity will be awardedbased on a bidding process. All bids are due by 1 p.m. EST onFriday, May 21. The high bidders will be awarded the capacity by 3p.m. EST that same day. The storage hub has six pipelineinterconnects and easy access to 15 pipeline and distributioncompanies, Union Gas said. The complex has a working capacity of130 Bcf and can deliver 2 Bcf/d for customers.

Canadian producers expect their natural gas prices to rise by asmuch as 60% when the next heating season catches up with effects ofthe 1998-99 drilling slump.