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After finishing last week with a multi-day Overage Alert Daynotice carrying a 6% tolerance for negative daily imbalances,Florida Gas Transmission reinstated the low-linepack OFO for itsmarket area Tuesday but tightened the tolerance considerably to 2%.The new notice is again due to high market area demand and appliesto the system east of Station 12 (Santa Rosa County, FL).

PG&E Energy Trading-Gas Corp. has named Al Pollard to thepost of Midwest basis trader with responsibility for managing theMidwest desk’s basis risk, reporting to Michael L. Axton, directorof gas trading, Midwest. Pollard joins PG&E Energy Trading fromEnron where he has held trading positions in natural gas and powersince 1995.

Frontier Energy, a subsidiary of Sempra Energy, beganconstruction of a distribution system in Warren County, NC, wherefirst-time gas service is expected to play a significant role inthe county’s economic revitalization, the company said. The WarrenCounty pipeline is part of a $55 million distribution system beingbuilt by Frontier to serve residents and businesses in sevennorthwestern North Carolina counties.

Destin Pipeline reported experiencing problems at both the MainPass 260 platform and the BP Amoco Pascagoula Processing Plant with”some objectionable substance” flowing into the system. It cut theVKGS Main Pass 260 point to 50% of scheduled volumes Monday. Thepoint was shut in Tuesday and no nominations are being acceptedthere until further notice, Destin said.

Cross Timbers Oil Co. killed two birds with one stone recentlyas it sold $63.5 million of non-core assets in various RockyMountain and Midwest areas, then used the proceeds from the sale tobuy Lehman Brothers Holding’s 50% in Spring Holdings Co. The restof the proceeds from the sale were used to pay down debt, thecompany said when it revealed both transactions yesterday. CrossTimbers now owns 100% of Spring Holding Co.

The Public Utility Commission of Ohio (PUCO) filed a statementwith the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)supporting the merger of Dominion Resources Inc. and ConsolidatedNatural Gas Co. The PUCO told the SEC that the agency wouldcontinue to exercise jurisdiction over the regulated activities ofThe East Ohio Gas Co., CNG’s gas distribution company in Ohio, andthat the merger would have no impact on its ability to protect theinterests of Ohio ratepayers. The PUCO’s approval is not needed,but the commission conducted a review at the request of East OhioGas.

With moderating temperatures, a hurricane lull and an upcomingholiday weekend pulling the rug out from under bidweek cash prices,the Nymex October futures contract also decided to take the plungeyesterday, plummeting into the $2.70s before settling in thelow-$2.80s and adding to last week’s market dip. Some observersbelieve October is destined to test at least the $2.60s before thisdrop is over.

With only a day left before the capacity now held by DynegyMarketing and Trade on El Paso Natural Gas opens to bids for nextyear, parties are continuing to fight over the legality of theoriginal contract.

Pacific Gas & Electric continued a low-inventory OFO begunWednesday (see Daily GPI, Aug. 25)through today with no change in imbalance tolerance orpenalties. PG&E extended a projection of below-target linepacklevels through Saturday.