It was getting hot just about everywhere Tuesday except in the Upper Plains. The rising air conditioning load had a moderate price-boosting effect in eastern markets, but virtually none at all in the West.

Upticks in the East went no higher than about 15 cents, and most were a dime or less. “It’s just about as hot here in the 90s as it is in Houston,” exclaimed one buyer in the Northeast. However, there seemed to be plenty of gas to go around, he said, causing prices to fall in late deals after “creeping up” at first. The Northeast will be unusually humid this week, he said, but temperatures should be falling again by Friday or so.

The tendency of late prices tailing off was reported in nearly all markets. San Juan-Blanco numbers were supported for a while by purchases in response to an El Paso OFO (see Transportation Notes), but they also softened as deadline approached, according to a western marketer. Much the same situation occurred at Opal, he said.

Prices fell in double digits at most western points. The exceptions were Permian/Waha gains in response to heavy intrastate Texas cooling load; a mild increase of nearly a dime at the PG&E citygate; and drops of less than a nickel at Sumas and Stanfield in the Pacific Northwest. The PG&E citygate likely derived a bit of strength from the utility’s bulletin board projecting current and near-term linepack levels barely above its minimum target. Also, it was “really hot” in California, even around the San Francisco Bay area, he said.

However, although Cal-ISO had issued a warning Sunday that Stage One and Two Electrical Emergencies were “likely” and a Stage Three was “possible,” both Monday and Tuesday, no such power alerts had been issued through press deadline Tuesday.

One source suggested that FERC’s action Monday in extending power price mitigation measures to the entire West all the time instead of just in California during electrical emergencies might have had a quick psychological impact on the region’s gas market. The California border-SoCalGas registered Tuesday’s biggest decline of more than 70 cents.

Activity was quiet in Calgary as many in the city’s trading community spent at least part of the day at an Alberta Energy Co.-sponsored golf tournament, one marketer said.

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