FAME releases data from New York & PJM ISOs
Fame Information Services Inc., provider of historical and reference data management solutions for the financial, energy and public sector markets, has expanded its coverage of energy market data with the release of data from both the New York and PJM ISOs. FAME now has more than 55 quality checked sources of energy market data.
Edison Mission Marketing & Trading selects OpenLink
Edison Mission Marketing & Trading (EMMT), Boston, provider of trading, risk management and operations software, has licensed Endur for the front- to back-office administration of power transactions, as well as natural gas and coal procurements for their parent company’s (Edison Mission Energy) generation assets. In addition, EMMT has licensed pMotion, OpenLink’s integrated power scheduling product that provides marketers and schedulers the tools needed to manage the book-out and physical delivery of power transactions.
ISO New England launches redesigned power market
ISO New England Inc. opened its redesigned wholesale power market in early March. The new method for buying and selling wholesale power is called Standard Market Design (SMD). SMD was a 22-month development effort that included developing computer systems and business processes, software testing and certification from an independent software auditor, and several market trial simulations. SMD features two core components: locational marginal pricing and a multi-settlement system. Wholesale power will no longer be priced uniformly across New England. As of March 1, the cost of transmission congestion was priced at a market rate, based on the location where the congestion occurred. Eight pricing zones went into effect on March 1, one for each of the following states: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; and three pricing zones for Massachusetts—one western and central Massachusetts, one for northeastern Massachusetts and Greater Boston, and one for southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
UGI Corp. to buy TXU Energy’s NE U.S. gas marketing business
UGI Corp. announced that its energy marketing subsidiary, UGI Energy Services Inc., has agreed to acquire the gas marketing business of TXU Energy serving the northeast region of the U.S. The transaction follows similar but smaller acquisitions by UGI over the past three years that included all or portions of the energy marketing businesses of Columbia Energy, Conectiv and PG Energy in the same region. Results of the TXU Energy acquisition are expected to be modestly accretive to earnings in the first full year of operation.
Reliant Resources exits proprietary trading
Reliant Resources announced that as a result of the extreme volatility in natural gas prices in late February, the company incurred a significant trading loss. As a result, management made the decision to exit proprietary trading activities. Starting in late December 2002, the company’s financial gas trading desk carried a spread position, which involved a short position for March natural gas deliveries and a long position for April natural gas deliveries. The position was within the company’s authorized Value at Risk and positional limits. However, natural gas market conditions changed dramatically over the weekend of Feb. 22-23, with the NYMEX March contract increasing $2.53/MMBtu on Monday, Feb. 24 from the previous Friday’s closing price. The company closed these positions, resulting in a trading loss of approximately $80 million pre-tax.
Dynegy exits communications
Dynegy Inc. announced an agreement to sell its North American communications business to an affiliate of 360networks Corp., a provider of data telecommunications services. The transaction is expected to close in April 2003. “Today’s announcement is significant for Dynegy and its stakeholders as it represents the last major divestiture of non-core assets in our self-restructuring. It leaves us with our three strong energy businesses in power generation, natural gas liquids and regulated energy delivery,” said Dynegy Inc. president and CEO, Bruce A. Williamson.
Alaska North Slope Gas producers discuss pipeline project
Exxon Mobil Corp., BP, and ConocoPhillips met with Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski in late March to discuss plans for entering into negotiations regarding state fiscal certainty, as well as ways to reduce project cost and improve project viability for the proposed $20 billion Alaska Gas Pipeline project. This project would involve a pipeline system to deliver gas from Alaska’s North Slope to the Lower-48 states. The meeting followed a unanimous vote by the Alaska House of Representatives for passage of House Bill 16, the reauthorization of the Alaska Stranded Gas Development Act. This bill, once signed into law, will allow the producers and the state to enter into negotiations regarding fiscal certainty and clarity for the Alaska Gas Pipeline project. The bill now moves to the Alaska State Senate.
