• FEATURE STORY:  Select Energy warns of dangers in laddering

• May consumer gas prices rose despite wholesale market

• Texas PUC finds marketers not discriminating by wealth

May consumer gas prices rose
despite wholesale market

Average residential and commercial retail gas prices rose in May despite a drop in wellhead and citygate prices, the Energy Information Administration reported.
      Average wellhead prices fell to $6.02/mcf from $6.44 in April while citygate prices -- the point where supplies move to LDC systems -- fell to $7.44 from April's $7.83.
      Even so, residential prices leaped to $12.72/mcf, up from $11.89 in April and hit the highest level since September of last year when the average hit $13.29 ...

Texas PUC finds marketers not
discriminating by wealth

Using 2003 median income data for specific zip codes, the Texas PUC checked retail switching rates against state averages.
     In three of the four regions, the distribution of switched customers by income levels mirrored the population by income level for the state and for each region.
     The finding?
     Texas marketers aren't discriminating on the basis of income.
     In South Texas, the fourth region, a disparity did exist between the population distribution and the number of switches ...

Constellation NewEnergy customer
load up 64% in quarter

It rose to 15,575 mw even as its parent's net income dipped from last year's second quarter.
     Constellation Energy reported revenues of more than $3.5 billion for the quarter, up from $2.8 billion this time last year, but undermined by a jump in fuel costs and purchased energy.
     Those rising costs led to net income's falling to $122 million, down almost $7 million from last year's quarter.
      NewEnergy distinguished itself by delivering 15.5 million mwh in the quarter, up 48% from last year, and boosting its market share by seven percentage points to 24.5%. That sets it apart from other national retail marketers -- Reliant, TXU, Strategic Energy, Suez and Direct Energy's US businesses -- who haven't been building market share this year, CFO Follin Smith told analysts ...

Picture Democrats, Republicans
working together like grownups

Sen Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, was pleased with the Senate's 74-26 vote Friday to pass a sweeping new energy bill, legislation he believes “has many more bright spots than flaws and deserves passage by the Senate and signature by the President," he said.
     The beauty of it is overwhelming.
     We've covered Congress since 1960 and don't remember anything quite like it in peacetime.
     Listen to these words as Bingaman praised his Republican counterpart, Pete Domenici, who departed from the ugly partisan route of past, failed attempts at energy legislation to win Bingaman's support and the backing of many Democrats ...

EnerNOC cites its role in avoiding NE outage

EnerNOC's demand-reduction clients -- about 250 C&Is -- cut power use by 130 mw, the firm said, thus helping to avoid a grid meltdown. It warned its customers via its automated system that a DR event was likely on the next day ...

Booming wholesale market aids BPA

A preliminary peek at BPA's bottom line for fiscal 2005 shows the federal agency may hit its financial targets for the year and exceed net revenue forecasts by about $39 million despite the low water in the Columbia Basin. Steve Wright, CEO, cautioned that the revenue numbers, while positive, are fragile ...

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