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Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line subsidiary filed anapplication with FERC last week for its SouthCoast expansionproject, which would add 204,099 Dth/d of firm transportationcapacity to serve new markets in Georgia and Alabama.

Williams said yesterday it’s Transcontinental Gas Pipe Linesubsidiary has filed an application with FERC for its SouthCoastexpansion project, which would add 204,099 Dth/d of firmtransportation capacity to serve new markets in Georgia andAlabama.

After negotiations with a special committee of Aquila Gas Pipeline (AQP) directors on an acquisition offer failed last week, UtiliCorp United Inc. launched an $8.00 per share cash tender offer directly to shareholders on Friday for all outstanding shares of the midstream operation. Kansas City, MO-based UtiliCorp already owns about 82% of AQP; the public owns about 18%, or 5.4 million shares.

Consolidated Edison and Orange and Rockland Utilities passed amilestone on their way to merging with approval of the transactionFriday by the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC). Themerger also has been approved by the New Jersey and Pennsylvaniaregulators and FERC. Con Ed plans to acquire all O&R’s commonstock for $58.50 per share, or about $790 million. O&R willbecome a wholly-owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison and willcontinue to operate as a separate company. The utilities areawaiting the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission andcompletion of the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act review by the U.S.Department of Justice and expect to close the transaction by nextmonth.

GPU Energy said settlement negotiations with parties involved inthe company’s stranded cost and unbundling case will continue as aregulatory deadline passed last week. “We have notified the NewJersey Board of Public Utilities that although we have not reacheda settlement at this time, we will continue the negotiationprocess,” said Mike Filippone, director of rates for New Jersey.

For the second Monday in a row the futures market kicked off theweek with a lower open, which featured bears as the earlyaggressors. That, however, is where the similarities between thetwo weeks ended. Whereas prices continued down the slippery slopelast Monday, yesterday’s trend was almost a straight line higher.Sources said a number of factors-technical short-covering,supportive weather forecasts and even a boost from the nearby crudeoil trading pit-were reasons for the 7-cent gain to $1.769 in Aprilfutures yesterday.

Kansas, a significant natural gas producing state, is stickingits toes in the water of retail gas competition with a notice ofinquiry (NOI) from the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC), “thegoal of which is to explore whether extending restructuring to allretail consumers is in the public interest. We also wish to exploreother regulatory alternatives which may bring benefits to smallerretail gas consumers.”

Producing state Kansas is sticking its toes in the water ofretail gas competition with a notice of inquiry (NOI) from theKansas Corporation Commission (KCC), “the goal of which is toexplore whether extending restructuring to all retail consumers isin the public interest. We also wish to explore other regulatoryalternatives which may bring benefits to smaller retail gasconsumers.”

Acting in concert with a stay issued by the Interior Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered Southern Natural Gas to stop its recently-begun construction work in a wildlife preserve along its mainline expansion route into northern Alabama.