The Public Utility Commission of Ohio made it possible yesterdayfor 1.8 million retail gas customers in more than 64 Ohio countiesto begin choosing gas suppliers this winter. PUCO approved a hugeexpansion of Columbia Gas of Ohio’s pilot program and extended thepilots of Cincinnati Gas & Electric and East Ohio Gas.
Yesterday
Articles from Yesterday
PG&E Energy Services Inks Retail Deal
PG&E Energy Service continued to amass a large collection ofretail supply and services contracts yesterday, adding Lucky Storesand American Drug Stores to a list that includes Safewaysupermarkets, Rite-Aid drug stores, McDonald’s restaurants,Blockbuster stores, ARCO gas stations Neiman-Marcus departmentstores and IBM.
Columbia Files to Negotiate Service Terms and Conditions
Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmissionyesterday followed through on a long-standing promise to provideFERC with some new regulatory ideas in the area of negotiated termsand conditions of service. The transmission subsidiaries ofColumbia Energy filed a proposal to establish a new regulatorymodel called Standard/Customized services. Columbia said it’s the”next logical step in the evolution of pipeline regulation andnatural gas markets.”
Futures Violate Support, Settle Below $2.00
Nymex futures once again were unable to buck the downtrend andcontinued to slip lower yesterday in quiet trade. The July Nymexcontract opened below $2 before breaking through long-term supportat $1.97 only to claw its way back up near the close. July settledat $1.976, down 5.1 cents for the day. In doing so, July posted thelowest level of any prompt contract since January.
Millennium Project to be Delayed Until November 2000
Millennium Pipeline yesterday joined a growing crowd of pipelineexpansions and projects that are being delayed until 2000. Thecompany informed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of therevised project schedule, which calls for some portions of the442-mile pipeline to be constructed in 1999, the balance beingbuilt the following year and service by November 2000. IndependencePipeline, a Millennium competitor, announced a similar delayearlier this year, and Alliance Pipeline said it too was forced toput off transportation services until winter 2000.
July Fails to Test Resistance; Slips Lower
The July Nymex contract looked poised to build on gainsyesterday by opening strong then immediately testing resistance inthe $2.20-21 area. However, for the second day in a row resistanceheld, leading to profit taking that sent July spiraling down tosettle at $2.156, a 3.5-cent loss for the day.
SoCalGas to Auction Purchase Options on Kern, Mojave
Southern California Gas announced yesterday it plans to auctionits options to buy the Southern California portions of the KernRiver and Mojave Pipeline systems. The options give SoCalGas theright to purchase the California portions of the two lines, theutility’s only gas transportation competitors in the region, in2012.
FERC Begins Inquiry of OCS Regulation-Again
The FERC majority voted yesterday to once again submerge itselfinto the “familiar, yet very rocky waters” of pipeline regulationon the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Specifically, it initiated anotice of inquiry (NOI) into alternatives to the Commission’spresent method of exercising its jurisdiction over offshorepipelines.
Granite State LNG Project Gets FERC Nod
After two years of hearings and oral arguments, FERC yesterdayfinally gave Granite State Gas Transmission the go-ahead to buildits controversial liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the townof Wells, ME.
FERC Sets Northern Natural as Test Case
Describing Northern Natural Gas’ recent all-new approach torates as “innovative,” FERC yesterday gave the go-ahead for anexamination of its components as “a useful test case” accompanyingthe Commission’s generic regulatory review.