Shell Oil Co. affiliate, Coral Power LLC, and Tenaska Inc. affiliate, Tenaska Alabama II Partners LP, have executed a tolling agreement under which fuel owned and supplied by Coral will be converted into electricity at a 900 Mw electric power station to be built near Billingsly, Ala., by Tenaska. The electricity will be marketed by Coral throughout the Southeast. Terms were not disclosed. This is the second such agreement between Tenaska and Coral. In August 1999, Tenaska and Coral signed an agreement for Coral to deliver the fuel and purchase the wholesale output of the 845 Mw Tenaska Gateway generating station in Rusk County, Tex.
Effective Sept. 1, the rate for PECO Energy Co.'s suburban natural gas customers rose 6.5%, from 71.8�/hundred cu ft (ccf) to 76�/ccf. Prices will be fixed for the winter period on Dec. 1, when rates will be increased again, possibly to 85-90�/ccf based on continued higher wholesale prices, the company reported. A residential customer who paid $136/month for 200 ccf last year may pay $172/month this year, PECO said. The company reported its pipeline storage and its local gas storage facilities at West Conshohocken and Chester expect to reach seasonal targets by November.
CMS Energy Corp. said its interstate natural gas pipeline, CMS Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Co., and Missouri Gas Energy (MGE) have signed a 5-year firm transportation agreement and plan to build a new 8-in. pipeline to serve Warrensburg, Mo. Additionally, CMS Panhandle has restructured several existing contracts with MGE by adding transportation and storage services. Beginning in October, CMS Panhandle will deliver up to 46 MMbtu/day of natural gas to MGE under the new contract.
The Steel Service Center Institute (SSCI) has entered into an agreement under which AES Corp. subsidiary NewEnergy will establish an energy buying pool for SSCI members, including about 170 steel producers, steel processors, and steel service centers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. SSCI members will be able to contract directly with NewEnergy to purchase electricity and may save up to 10% off the electricity generation portion of their bills, NewEnergy said. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Conoco Inc. subsidiary, Conoco Global Power, said it has completed long-term financing agreements for the 420 Mw natural gas-fired cogeneration plant now under construction at the E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.'s Sabine River works facility, Orange, Tex. Financing for $182 million of the project's $260 million cost was led by Banc of America Securities LLC. The facility will be owned and operated through the SRW Cogeneration Ltd. Partnership. Conoco is project manager for the construction of the facility, which is scheduled to begin commercial operation in the summer of 2001. Electricity and 100% of the steam generated by the new plant will be sold to DuPont for its Sabine Works nylon intermediates facility. A separate long-term contract is in place to sell a significant portion of the capacity of the new power facility to PG&E Corp.'s National Energy Group's subsidiary, Energy Trading-Power, LP. The remaining electricity from the plant will be marketed through the Southeastern Reliability Council.
Oklaoma regulators have given operators with unallocated gas wells in Oklahoma the green light to produce as much product as possible. Specifically, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission proration order will continue to allow unallocated gas wells in Oklahoma to produce the greater of 65% of calculated absolute open flow (CAOF) or 2 MMcfd. In practical terms, commissioners said, those numbers are the maximum amount the best well can produce in Oklahoma. The order applies to the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2001.
The Ohio Power Siting Board approved construction of two new electric generation peaking facilities. DPL Energy Inc., a subsidiary of DPL Inc., received approval to build a $183 million 480 Mw combustion turbine peaking power plant in Pickaway County. The completed facility will consist of six simple cycle combustion turbine generators, each rated at 80 Mw and fired on natural gas with fuel oil as a backup fuel. National Power Cooperative Inc., a subsidiary of Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives Inc., received approval to construct a $172 million 500 Mw combustion turbine peaking power plant in Van Wert County. The completed facility will consist of three simple cycle combustion turbine generators, each rated at 167 Mw and fired on natural gas with fuel oil as a back-up fuel. Since May 1999, the board has approved seven other combustion turbine generation projects, for a total of 3,775 Mw of new generation in Ohio. Additionally, the board is reviewing applications for another 4,050 Mw of generation capacity.
PPL EnergyPlus, an unregulated unit of PPL Corp., said it will reduce its work force by 65 positions, or about 5% in response to a changing energy market. The affected employees work in sales, marketing, administrative, and support positions. The company said it remains committed to the competitive retail energy business, and will continue to serve all of its retail electricity customers. PPL EnergyPlus also participates in the wholesale electricity business with operations in 43 states and Canada.