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New Century Energies and Northern States Power, two mid-sizedcombination utilities, decided on marriage yesterday to create amuch larger company, fend off competitors and prepare for comingderegulation. Through a $4.7 billion merger of equals ($9 billionbased on combined market capitalization), the companies will createa Minneapolis-based electric and gas utility conglomerate with 3million power customers and 1.5 million gas customers in 12 statesfrom Mexico to Canada.

Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) said it is conducting an openseason through April 30 for another expansion project, its Phase Vexpansion, which is designed as an alternative to two majorGulf-crossing pipeline competitors, the Buccaneer and Gulfstreampipelines, proposed by Williams and Coastal, respectively.

East Tennessee Natural Gas, a unit of Houston-based El PasoEnergy, is holding an open season for incremental capacity alongits mainline in Tennessee and Virginia. The proposed expansionwould entail construction of mainline pipeline, compression andrelated facilities. Service is targeted to begin Nov. 1, 2000.

Midcoast Energy subsidiary Midcoast Canada Operating Corp.bought the Calmar gas treating plant and gathering system inAlberta from Probe Exploration Inc. for C$20 million (US$13.2million). The company has its sights on similar acquisitions in thefuture.

El Paso Field Services entered the energy project financingarena with Wednesday’s purchase of En Cap Investment Co. for $52million in cash and stock. Robert Phillips, El Paso Field Services’president, said all regulatory issues have been settled and thedeal will be accretive to El Paso’s earnings beginning April 1.

As a precursor to an expected mid-April Supreme Court decisionon the Southern Ute Indian Tribe vs. BP Amoco rights and royaltycase, the Williams Cos., one of the defendants represented by BPAmoco, announced a partial settlement with the Southern Ute tribeThursday. The settlement released the Williams subsidiary involvedin the trial, Williams Production Co., from all claims included inthe lawsuit, but did not address key ownership issues.

A FERC administrative law judge (ALJ) has agreedTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line was well within its rights when itdenied ANR Pipeline an additional interconnection to its mainlinesystem in Louisiana, saying Transco’s action neither wasdiscriminatory, caused ANR to lose business nor violated antitrustprinciples.

Unitil Corp. of Hampton, NH, acquired a minority interest inNorth American Power Brokers Inc. for $3 M in cash, and haslicensed and will deploy North American Power’s Internet-basedtechnology for electricity and gas energy sales to retailconsumers.

One year into electric deregulation, the benefits promisedconsumers by the California legislature have failed to materialize,making monopoly utilities the primary winners in the state’sderegulation game, according to San Francisco-based TURN, TheUtility Reform Network.