Daily GPI

California’s power plant siting agency gave unanimous approvalWednesday to Duke Energy’s plans to build new facilities at itsexisting Moss Landing generating plant along the central Californiacoast, adding 1,200-MW capacity while eliminating eight 225-footsmoke stakes and 10 oil storage tanks for the existing plant sitedeveloped in the early 1950s. After a 22-month approval process,Duke officials said earlier in the week they will beginconstruction Monday, assuming they receive a final local waterpermit as expected on Friday.

Internet commerce system Enermetrix picked up its firstregulated customer this week, when ValuSource Energy, a subsidiaryof Pennsylvania’s Duquesne Light Co., said it would use the networkto serve its business, government and industrial customers. TheEnermetrix system will give DLC’s customers the option to purchasetheir energy online through the Web-based network.

In announcing a 46% increase in third quarter earnings yesterdayled by a doubling of earnings from the company’s nonregulatedoperations, El Paso CEO William Wise said he expected the company’sacquisition of PG&E Gas Transmission Texas to win finalapprovals from the Federal Trade Commission and the Texas AttorneyGeneral’s office “literally any moment now.” He also said theCoastal merger still is expected to be completed in the fourthquarter.

UtiliCorp United reported a 75% jump in earnings per share forthe third quarter led by strong results from its Aquila Energysubsidiary and an increased contribution from internationalbusinesses. “The energy merchant business continues to be strong,”said CEO Richard C. Green. “Aquila’s performance and the continuedunleashing of value in our international businesses resulting fromthe initial contribution of our recent electric network acquisitionin Canada and the successful initial public offering of our telecombusiness in Australia enabled us to exceed last year’s thirdquarter results.”

ANR said the start of horsepower maintenance at its St. John (IN)Compressor Station, which had been scheduled for today (see Daily GPI,Oct. 25) has been delayed untilNov. 2. However, it is still projecting completion of the work forNov. 22. There is still an associated capacity reduction of 100,000Dth/d, ANR said, but it also still thinks nomination cuts may beminimized or eliminated by cooler market area weather.

Is the market in early meltdown stage? At least one traderthought so, saying, “Yep, it sure looks that way” after the screentacked on a second straight day of double-digit losses Wednesdayand was joined by the cash market recording price drops rangingbetween a dime and a little more than 20 cents.

What do you get when you mix larger-than-expected supply newswith shoulder-month demand and a bearish weather outlook? If youanswered a double-digit price decline then you would have mademoney yesterday in the gas pit at Nymex. In a bearish one-two combothat will not soon be forgotten by bull nor bear, natural gasfutures tumbled lower yesterday afternoon amid an array of negativefundamental factors. Plumbing its lowest level since Aug. 28, theNovember contract slipped 16.1 cents to close at $4.659. Meanwhile,the winter strip suffered a 16.4-cent setback to finish at $4.647.

Frustrated by the inability of El Paso Natural Gas and itsshippers to resolve the capacity-allocation problems on thepipeline, FERC yesterday unveiled its own “multi-step” solutionthat requires El Paso to make a one-time assignment of primary firmcapacity rights based on shipper elections to alleviate thecongestion surrounding gas shipments to the Southern CaliforniaGas/Topock point and the other three Topock points.

A revised auction process for firm capacity, described as moremarket responsive, on Kinder Morgan’s Natural Gas Pipeline Companyof America won approval from the Federal Energy RegulatoryCommission yesterday (RP97-431-009).