Yesterday

Executives with companies looking to increase the use of small electric generation units known as microturbines yesterday sought to promote some of the nascent technology’s benefits, including a minimal amount of maintenance and the ability to make use of heat-generated energy that would otherwise go to waste.

UtiliCorp United said yesterday it would be picking up TransAltaCorp.’s Alberta-based electricity distribution and retail assetsfor $450 million in a deal intended to aid its internationalexpansion. The assets serve 350,000 customers with about 54,000miles of low-voltage distribution lines, and a 24-hour customercall center in Calgary.

FPL Group Inc. yesterday said that it expects to meet consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.76 for the first quarter of 2001, excluding expenses of about $30 million related to its failed merger attempt with Louisiana-based Entergy Corp. (see Daily GPI, April 3). FPL Group will announce its latest earnings results on April 20.

Cinergy Corp. yesterday said that it expects to realize 45% of its 2001 earnings per share target of $2.75 in the first half of the year and the remaining 55% in the latter half of 2001. “Having acquired 1,700 MW of gas-fired electric peaking capacity over the last 18 months, our energy merchant generation portfolio has changed and that is reflected in the timing of our expected profit realization during 2001,” said R. Foster Duncan, excecutive vice-president and CFO at Cinergy.

El Paso Natural Gas reported yesterday that it received 127 shipper requests for a total of 9.7 Bcf/d of firm transportation capacity in its recent open season. A total of 76 responses were received requesting 4.5 Bcf/d for deliveries to the border or inside the State of California and a total of 51 responses were received requesting a volume of 5.2 Bcf/d for deliveries to states east of California.

Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-AK) yesterday called on Energy SecretarySpencer Abraham to provide the Senate Energy and Natural ResourcesCommittee with a comprehensive inventory of all possible energysources to head off the worsening power shortages that areanticipated for California and other western markets this summer.

Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. said yesterday that it expectselectricity supplies in its upstate New York service area thissummer to be adequate to meet demand. Niagara Mohawk provideselectricity to more than 1.5 million customers in the state anddelivers natural gas to more than 540,000.

President Bush yesterday announced his intention to nominateVicky A. Bailey, who served as FERC Commissioner for seven years,to be assistant secretary of energy for international and domesticpolicy. She departed the Commission last February to becomepresident of PSI Energy Inc., Indiana’s largest electric utilityand a subsidiary of Cinergy Corp. Bailey, a Republican, was firstnominated to FERC by President Clinton in 1993 to serve a termthatexpired in 1996 and then was renominated for a five-year term. Sheleft the Commission before her full term was up. An Indiana native,Bailey served on the Indiana Utility Commission from 1986 to 1993.

Houston-based El Paso Corp. and its subsidiary Coastal Corp.said yesterday they had taken a combined charge of $1.28 billion asof January 1, 2001 under a new U.S. accounting rule related tohedging activities and derivative instruments for 2000 earnings.Net of taxes, El Paso’s charge was $821 million and Coastal’s was$457 million.