Yesterday

“It was like a bad dream,” was one marketer’s summation ofWednesday’s 4-cent decline that was quickly recouped by yesterday’s4.1-cent advance. Another trader was a little more specific,attributing the downward blip to funds rolling positions from Mayto June. But regardless of the rationale, Wednesday’s lowersettle-the first one in the last seven sessions-looked like theGrand Canyon nestled among the Alps.

Williams yesterday said it is holding an open season throughJune 1 for annual firm service to be created by Transco’s SundanceExpansion Project. The expansion is intended to serve growing powergeneration, residential and commercial gas markets in thesoutheastern United States and is proposed to be in service byApril 2002. Sundance would expand the Transco system from Station65 in Louisiana to Station 165 in Virginia.

The Clinton administration’s retail electricity restructuringbill that was unveiled yesterday had some bad and not-so-bad newsfor natural gas. The bad news was that it requires a maximum 7.5%of annual electricity output to be generated by renewable fuelsources, but on the brighter side the full effect won’t be feltuntil the end of the next decade at the earliest.

In a report released yesterday, the Mid-America InterconnectedNetwork (MAIN) said it expects a new peak for power demand in themidwestern NERC region this summer but power supplies should be”significantly improved” compared to the past two summers. The MAINstudy forecasts a peak demand of 48,157 MW this summer, compared to46,824 MW in 1998.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday approved aninitiative calling for it to conduct an inquiry into projecteddemand for natural gas in the Northeast quadrant of the UnitedStates and the corresponding need for new pipeline capacity in theregion.

FERC tied up all the loose ends in the Maritimes & NortheastPipeline project in a draft order released yesterday, clearing theway for the pipeline to begin delivering about 350 MMcf/d of SableIsland gas to power plants, paper mills and new markets in Maineand other New England states this fall.

FERC yesterday readily approved the $4 billion merger of twowestern utilities-Sierra Pacific Power and Nevada Power. This was”relatively easy” compared to other deals that have come before theCommission, said Commissioner Vicky Bailey.

Illinova Energy Partners (IEP) purchased another niche retailmarketing operation yesterday to bolster it presence in keyderegulating markets. The company, which has added EMC GasTransmission in Michigan and Equitable Resource Marketing inIndiana during the last six months, purchased Tempe, AZ-basedQuality Energy Services (QES) to gain a foothold in thesoon-to-be-deregulated Arizona energy market.

While just a smidgen of its project would be in Canada, Vectorstill needed – and got yesterday – approval from Canada’s NationalEnergy Board (NEB). “This is a significant milestone and supportsVector’s status as the most advanced project to meet increasingdemand for natural gas for markets east of Chicago,” said VectorVice President Juri Otsason. Vector expects to receive finalcertification from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)in the second quarter, which will represent the final step inregulatory approvals.