One Big Gas Company

Plumdog_2

a very funny movie in my opinion; about this Corporate corruption subject. I recommend it to anyone concerned. Also read the global warming thread and the comments about replacing the competent, effective, well-paid employees with young brown-nosers.

Unknown

Talk about a Monopoly

One Big Gas Company

I do not find much time lately to post, as I am extremely busy with developing a bunch of new programs and courses along with my teaching schedule. I am just finishing up teaching a one-year course for the gas license in the state of Rhode Island. I am also putting out my new Circuitry and Troubleshooting Manuals. I felt I would however take some time and post this information. I ran across this article in AGA monthly magazine “American Gas” and thought you all might find it interesting. National Grid is in the process of purchasing New England Gas, which serves all of Rhode Island, which is my home.

National Grid to Acquire KeySpan for $7.3 Billion

KEYSPAN CORP. HAS AGREED to be acquired by the British firm National Grid in a $7.3 billion cash transaction.

The merger creates the third-largest energy delivery utility in the United States. National Grid acquired New England Electric System and Eastern Utilities Associates in 2000 and Niagara Mohawk in 2002. In February, the firm announced it would acquire the Rhode Island gas distribution business of Southern Union Co: (New England Gas)

"KeySpan is an excellent operational and geographic fit and a natural extension of our business and our strategy," said Roger Urwin, chief executive of National Grid. "KeySpan is an acquisition which makes sense at every level, and we look forward to its completion and welcoming Robert Catell, KeySpan's chairman and chief executive officer, to our board."

Catell will become executive chairman of National Grid USA and deputy chairman of National Grid PLC. Michael E Jesanis will remain president and CEO of National Grid USA. Catell said the deal With National Grid "will deliver significant value to shareholders and customers of both companies. KeySpan will become an important part of one of the largest and most efficient energy delivery companies in the world and have access to additional financial resources to invest in our energy infrastructure and growth opportunities.

KeySpan is the largest natural gas distributor in the Northeast, operating regulated gas utilities in New York, Massachusetts and New Hampshire that serve 2.6 million customers. It is also the largest electricity generator in New York State, with (approximately 6,650 megawatts of generating capacity that provides power to 1.1 million customers of the Long Island Power Authority {LIPA) and supplies approximately 25 percent of New York City's capacity needs. KeySpan also operates LIPA's transmission and distribution system under contract to LIPA.

National Grid owns and operates the high-voltage electric transmission network in England and Wales and the high- pressure gas transmission system in Britain. Through its natural gas distribution business, the company serves more than 11 million meters in homes and businesses in Britain.

www.ngrid.com ; www.keyspanenergy.com

Brad White_60

Two and a half words

Sherman Anti-Trust.

bob_50

And who is

the largest marketer of nat gas in the US---? BP

Big Ed

Good for Consumer....

...Yeah right ! For the same reason Standard Oil was broken up for....What ?What you say ?Theirrrrr Baaaaack

Plumdog_2

where'd they get the money?

7.3 billion left over after expenses?

Unknown

Things will not get any better

I have certainly seen since I left Providence Gas (Now New England Gas) a change in attitude of the company toward its customers and its employees. It has been said when a company begins to negelect its customers and its employees trouble is on the way.

I certainly believe in progress and also that a reasonable profit should be gained by any business. I saw the change coming however when I was with the utility just before I left. It was cloaked in team work meetings and performance based studies which actually became the means to get rid of 30 middle managers and eventually 6 Vice Presidents. A management philosophy followed which was geared toward corporate benefit and the stockholders. This continues to this day.

It is even carried over locally in an attitude that it is better to replace equipment than to repair the equipment. This has also created an attitude that training is not important any longer.

From what I have read and heard about National Grid things are only going to get worse.

Larry (from OSHA)

seems destined to happen

It seems that these types of aquisitions won't stop any time soon. Just the way of the world these days.

But, on a slightly different note, I read in my paper that the local electric utility is going to replace an old coal fired generating plant with a shiny new natural gas facility. The goal being to reduce CO2 emissions along with whatever else coal fired plants put out.

While I'm all for reducing the causes of global warming, I have to wonder just what this added demand on natural gas resources will do to the price that we pay to heat our homes. As oil prices continue to climb, my hunch is that natural gas pricing will follow. Will we be looking back at $1.50 per therm as the good old days?

I recall being at a gas fired generating plant in Colorado Springs a few years ago for some training and the operator said that they didn't run it much as the price for gas did not compare favorably with the price of coal. I wonder if that has changed with the various incentives out there now.

Larry

Tony Conner

It Depends...

... on what the plant can charge for the electricity it generates. That's the one big reason why there wasn't exactly a rush for private sector power generators to build gas fired plants here in Ontario. The gov't was artificially holding the line on power costs. I know of one gas fired plant that's "temporarily" closed because it costs more to run it than they can get out of it. They sold their gas contract to somebody else - and made money off that transaction. They'd have been better off just buying & selling natural gas futures than spending a hundred million dollars building a plant they can't afford to run.

"Incentives" are something used to hide reality from the voters & ratepayers. If they take tax money from general revenue, and use it to subsidize electric power rates - because the generators have been forced to burn a fuel that's ridiculously expensive - that's just re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Ratepayers/taxpayers have two choices, no matter what happens - 1/ we can pay, or 2/ we can pay.

At the end of the day, the only realistic choices in order to have any quantity of reasonably priced electric power are coal or nuke. It's not a "happy choice" for a lot of people, but it is the reality.

Unknown

Coal is the way to go

for generating electricity. It is the least expensive and just makes sense when we have so much of it.
If coal is produced at the level needed to produce all the electricty needed it will also help to make the mines safer. My reasoning is this; the on again off again use of coal cause mines to shut down and then reopen. This does not allow for safe operation. It does not generate the revenue needed to add safety precautions required. When demand is up and profits are good then safety becomes affordable, this is sad but definitely true. I grew up in coal mining country(southwest PA) and it has always been that way.

Using natural gas to produce electricity is eventually going to make nat gas scarce for residentail heating use. This will drive the price through the roof.