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General Interest 2000 P

  • 09/29/2000 -- Grandstanding and scapegoating
    Rilwanu Lukman must be answering the question in his sleep. Pressed by a reporter's interrogation on the opening day of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) heads of state summit in Caracas last week, the OPEC secretary general lost patience. "Eighty percent of the price of fuel is taxation," he bellowed, "you figure out who's responsible for the high price of oil."
  • 09/28/2000 -- FERC approves rates for new transmission company
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved rates for DTE Energy�s International Transmission Co. that will allow the first independent transmission company to be formed from assets divested by an electric utility. DTE Energy formed the transmission company in late June and filed for rates with the FERC. The new company will become a completely stand alone independent transmission company that will give open access to the grid in Michigan.
  • 09/28/2000 -- Puget Sound Energy to test real-time energy pricing
    Washington state�s energy market is not yet deregulated, but Puget Sound Energy already has committed to providing real-time pricing information to some customers, under a new program. Beginning this winter customers will be able to compare bills based on fixed rates vs. market prices. By next year, the utility will be able to offer real-time pricing to those who want it.
  • 09/28/2000 -- Study: Reduced gas use will raise coal compliance costs
    If the US electricity industry substitutes coal for natural gas, using just 4.8 tcf of gas in 2010 instead of 6.5 tcf projected earlier by an industry group, pollution from uncapped emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and mercury could climb by 10%, according to a report by Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. Carbon dioxide (CO2 emissions would rise about 4%.
  • 09/27/2000 -- FERC approves Entergy's nuclear purchases from NYPA
    The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday authorized Entergy Corp. to buy the 980 Mw Indian Point Unit 3 nuclear plant, Buchanan, NY, and the 825 Mw James A. FitzPatrick nuclear plant, Oswego, NY, from the New York Power Authority (NYPA). The deal still requires the blessing of the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Entergy spokesman Carl Crawford said the company hopes to close the deal in November.
  • 09/27/2000 -- Consultant: Lower oil prices would benefit natural gas users
    Taking a contrarian view of the market, a US energy consulting firm concludes natural gas prices could fall significantly if oil prices continued declining. But ICF Consulting concludes the 30 million bbl of oil which President Clinton has authorized for release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is insufficient to bring oil prices down enough to calm the natural gas market.
  • 09/27/2000 -- Industry groups see adequate winter oil, gas supplies
    US oil and gas associations have told the Senate Energy Committee they are more confident about supplies than prices as the winter heating season nears. Meanwhile, Energy Sec. Bill Richardson said he would meet with the staff of the National Petroleum Council (NPC), his oil industry advisory group, regarding winter fuel supplies. The meeting was scheduled for Oct. 2.
  • 09/27/2000 -- Market watch, Sept. 27
    Energy futures were mixed Tuesday as markets adjusted to the realities of daily demand after digesting US President Bill Clinton's move to release 30 million bbl of crude from the country's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  • 09/27/2000 -- Big power cost pass-throughs deepen hedging controversy
    This summer's sharp rise in natural gas and purchased electricity costs caught many US utilities off guard and sharpened interest in hedging strategies that could be used to protect consumers from price hikes. In the wake of debacles in California, Florida, and the Northwest, hedging, the ability to buy or sell electricity in the forward market as protection against volatility, has emerged as one of the hottest topics in the industry.
  • 09/26/2000 -- MAPSA may not appeal Baltimore court ruling
    The Mid-Atlantic Power Supply Association said it is still undecided but leaning toward not appealing a Baltimore City Circuit Court decision that quashed its challenge to deregulation rules negotiated with Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. (BGE) by state regulators. Susan Daycock, spokesperson for MAPSA, said most competitors, including Shell Energy Services, a unit of Shell Oil Co., are already backing away from serving residential or small commercial customers.
  • 09/26/2000 -- Filings: Reliant overcollecting stranded costs
    Reliant HL&P�s ratepayers should get a credit instead of extra charges tacked on to their transmission and distribution bills once competition begins in 2002, the Office of Public Utility Counsel and potential competitors said in a filing at the Public Utility Commission of Texas. A spokeswoman for Reliant HL&P said the company 'clearly does not agree with their methodology' for computing stranded costs.
  • 09/26/2000 -- Pan Asia, Eurogas to develop Sakha oil and gas
    Pan Asia Mining Corp., Vancouver, BC, said Monday it would purchase for $3 million a 51% interest in EuroGas GmbH (EuroGas-Austria) of Vienna, a subsidiary of London-based EuroGas Inc. of London. All of the funds will be spent on future exploration in Russia's Autonomous Republic of Sakha.
  • 09/26/2000 -- Phillips Petroleum acquires coalbed methane assets
    Phillips Petroleum Co., Bartlesville, Okla., acquired additional coalbed methane assets in Utah, Alabama, and Wyoming through four transactions totaling $123 million cash.
  • 09/26/2000 -- Southern California Edison issues warning on cost recovery
    Southern California Edison Co., a unit of Edison International, said May through August revenues from customers were insufficient to cover the cost of providing service, a condition that is expected to prevail at least through September. As a result, the big California utility said it has used virtually all of its authorized capacity for short-term borrowing and will have to seek authorization from the California Public Utilities Commission to issue additional short-term debt.
  • 09/26/2000 -- Market watch, Sept. 26
    Energy futures prices continued their downward slide Monday in the wake of US President Bill Clinton's plans to release 30 million bbl of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  • 09/25/2000 -- Cinergy plans $700 million pollution control program
    Cinergy Corp. said Monday its operating companies plan to invest more than $700 million in pollution control equipment and other methods to comply with US government rules that require reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), a gas that contributes to the formation of smog. Cinergy was one of seven large US electric utilities sued by the US Environmental Protection Agency in November 1999 and accused of releasing millions of tons of pollutants into the air.
  • 09/25/2000 -- LG&E to spend $500 million on pollution control
    LG&E Energy Corp.�which is expected to merge with the UK's PowerGen PLC by yearend�said it will spend $500 million on a proposed nitrogen oxide (NOx) reduction project that is expected to decrease NOx emissions by 70% and bring the company into compliance with government-mandated reductions in emissions from coal-fired power plants. A company spokesman said LG&E anticipates receiving EPA approval of the plan next year.
  • 09/25/2000 -- Market watch, Sept. 25
    Energy futures prices plunged Friday in a preemptive reaction by traders even before US President Bill Clinton announced plans to release 30 million bbl of emergency crude supplies from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Analysts expect markets to remain bearish over the next 30 days as the Clinton administration pours more oil into world markets in what is widely interpreted as a political move.
  • 09/25/2000 -- G8 task force meets on renewables
    The G8 governments' Task Force on Renewable Energy sat down for the first time last Friday in Rome, Italy, with the stated aim of mapping out a plan to expand use of renewables on a global scale, with a "particular" emphasis on developing countries where an estimated 2 billion people do not have access to reliable sources of energy.
  • 09/24/2000 -- Baltimore court upholds deregulation proceedings for Baltimore Gas & Electric
    Baltimore Gas & Electric can go forward with restructuring rates to consumers because a Baltimore Circuit Court judge upheld a settlement agreement with the Maryland Public Service Commission that had been challenged in court by would-be competitors.