Daily GPI

Today began with one more operational cross-border natural gaspipeline in place than there was last month, as Coral Energy andMexico-based Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) announced yesterday thecompletion of their 104-mile pipeline linking the Pemex pipelinesystem at Arguelles in the Mexico state of Tamaulipas, with Coral’spipeline system on the King Ranch in South Texas.

It’s been a little more than a week since the IntercontinentalExchange launched online energy trading among member companies, andthe site already has posted $1 billion in energy transactions.

With overloads of turned-back capacity and a bottoming marketfor long-term pipeline transportation contracts, distributors havefinally picked up some pipeline support for a “generic” departurefrom straight fixed variable (SFV) rates.

Reps. James L. Oberstar (D-MN), John D. Dingell (D-MI) and DavidR. Obey (D-WI) sent letters to President Clinton and HouseDemocratic Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt last week urgingrejection of an effort to include the Senate’s pipeline safety bill(S. 2438) as a rider to an appropriations bill or other “must-pass”legislation.

Exelon Corp., a big new kid on the electricity block, isexpected to begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchangeunder the symbol “EXC.” The new company is the product of the $8billion merger of Unicom Corp. and PECO Energy Co. which wascompleted on Friday, following approval by the Securities andExchange Commission.

Alberta spot sales have reached C$7/Mcf (US$4.83) and centralCanadian distributors are warning customers to expect an expensivewinter. Analysts see no end to the tight markets. But natural-gasproducers say they have found a way out — tap the Arctic.

The Maryland Public Service Commission has rejected an agreementthat would have enabled Washington Gas Light Co., which serves morethan 870,000 customers in the Washington, D.C. area, to implementan incentive-based rate plan. Even though it found some parts ofthe agreement worthwhile, MPSC said it had to either accept orreject the plan in its entirety.

The California Public Utilities Commission Thursday decided totemporarily mandate that large electricity customers who have optedfor price breaks by voluntarily agreeing to be curtailed duringextreme peak-demand periods remain on their interruptible scheduleat least through March 31, 2001. The regulators took the action tocoincide with a statewide effort now underway to beef up thecurtailment program before next summer to have more voluntarycurtailed load in place if needed to avoid rolling blackouts duringpeak-demand times.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was authorized by state regulatorsThursday to borrow an additional $1.4 billion in short-term debt tocover under-collections caused by wholesale power prices exceedingfrozen retail rates the utility is allowed to charge itselectricity customers under the state’s restructuring program.