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As the retail market for natural gas and electricity moves into the competitive arena, few of the largest marketers are lining up behind Enron to serve small residential customers. El Paso Energy was the latest to declare its preference for large customers, saying it was closing regional offices in four eastern cities.

AlliedSignal Power Systems is gearing up to tackle the distributed generation microturbine market, which is expected to take off in 1999. This year it is scheduled to produce only 150 of its TurboGeneratorO units, each with 75 KW capacity, but the company has already presold 70% of the 5,000 units it was planning to produce next year, and is already thinking about increasing production. It originally planned to double production to 10,000 units in 2000, but those numbers may also change.

A new energy tax reform package debuted in New Jersey earlier this year with the intent of “leveling the playing field” between utilities and marketers in their zealous quest for natural gas customers, but the immediate and unintended fallout has been a dampening of customer interest in gas pilot programs.

PacifiCorp last week upped its bid for Britain’s The Energy Group to $12.62 per ordinary share, a 10% increase over the original bid made June 13. And FERC gave its blessing to the sale of assets held by Citizens Power, an Energy Group subsidiary. The asset sale is necessary for PacifiCorp’s bid to go forward.

Despite the current lull in gas production, the Gulf of Mexico is expected to grow in its delivery and supply of gas by 4-6 Tcf a year over the next decade, predicts Michael J. Utsler, deep-water manager of planning and technology for Amoco’s offshore business unit.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has asked Congress for a fiscal year 1999 budget raise of 4.2% – about 2.2% higher than what it projects actual spending will be. It said it was seeking the higher budget authority because it didn’t expect to have available in 1999 any unspent funding from prior years to offset costs.

After a four-year struggle and one failed open season, sponsors of a proposed high-deliverability gas storage facility that could become a major Midcontinent spot market location have launched a redesigned project they say is larger but more affordable. HNG Storage, The Williams Companies and Coastal Corp.’s ANR Storage Co. said they expect to file an application with FERC for the $50 million project, called Kiowa Gas Storage, in March.

Amoco Production last week asked FERC to stay the disclosure of a private settlement with Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America (NGPL) while it considers the producer’s rehearing request addressing the confidentiality of the document.

Carnegie Gas, a unit of USX-Marathon, and Houston-based Natural Gas Storage Corp. of North America (NGSC) said they have plans to develop new high-deliverability storage in the Northeast at a lower cost and with more flexible terms of service than other recent projects.