![](media/image1.jpeg){width="8.5in"
height="3.5027777777777778in"}**U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY**

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**January 13, 2004**

**Electricity**

# PSEG Shuts Hope Creek N.J. Nuke Due to Bad Signal Operators at PSEG\'s 1,100 megawatt Hope Creek nuclear power station in New Jersey shut the plant on Monday due to a false alarm signal, PSEG said. The company said its control room operators decided to shut the plant at 10:48 a.m. Eastern time after an \"invalid containment isolation signal\" partially shut two of the plant\'s main steam valves. The plant will remain shut while operators investigate the false signal. [**http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040113/utilities_pseg_hopecreek_1.html**](http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040113/utilities_pseg_hopecreek_1.html) [**http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040112/nym194_1.html**](http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040112/nym194_1.html) Bloomberg News 1306 January 13, 2004

**FirstEnergy, NRC Not Ready for Plant Restart Talks**\
Utility FirstEnergy Corp. and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission are
not ready to discuss a restart of the utility\'s troubled Davis-Besse
nuclear power plant in Ohio, both sides said on Monday. Akron,
Ohio-based FirstEnergy and the NRC declined to give a date for a meeting
needed before the federal agency can give the green light to put the 925
megawatt plant back on the Midwest transmission grid. A FirstEnergy
spokesman confirmed that a critical \"restart readiness inspection\"
that was to begin on Monday has been postponed, adding \"it could come
in as early as several weeks from now,\" which could push restart into
February.

<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040112/utilities_firstenergy_davisbesse_1.html>

**Petroleum**

**US Oil Tops \$35, Then Drops on Profit Taking, OPEC Calls for
Stability**\
World oil prices set fresh post-Iraq war highs on Tuesday as advancing
cold weather fueled concern over tight U.S. oil inventories. U.S. light
crude futures traded over \$35 a barrel for the first time since the
approach to the invasion of Iraq. Spot crude prices actually finished
the day off 13 cents from yesterday's close. Forecaster Meteorlogix said
temperatures in the U.S. Northeast, the world\'s biggest heating oil
market, would slide 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit below normal from
Wednesday. \"Very high demand will return as Arctic air re-invades the
region during mid-week,\" said Meteorlogix. Lower-than-normal
temperatures were expected for at least the next two weeks, it added.
The latest price increase brought an appeal from OPEC for stability.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040113/markets_oil_3.html>

**No Change to OPEC's Price Band Due to Dollar Weakness -- Atillya**

Qatari oil minister Abdullah al-Attiyah said Tuesday there were no plans
to change OPEC\'s \$22-\$28/bbl price band to take account of a weaker
dollar. He also said OPEC ministers would wait until the next meeting in
Algiers Feb 10 to decide output policy. Attiyah also reiterated remarks
made Monday that recent high prices were not due to fundamentals and
OPEC did not intend to take immediate action to raise supply although
prices have been above OPEC\'s price band for more than the requisite 20
consecutive trading days. But he said all options were open in
Algiers.\" <http://www.platts.com/stories/oil1.html>

**Motiva: Delaware Refinery Restoring Operations After Units Shut
Sunday**\
Motiva Enterprises said in a press release that about 3 a.m. EST (0800
GMT) Sunday both sulfur recovery units at its 175,000- barrels-a-day
Delaware City, Del., refinery experienced operational upsets that caused
both units to be taken offline. One of the sulfur recovery units was
brought back online by 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) Sunday, however, production
rates at the refinery remained reduced. The second unit was in the
process of restoring normal operations on Tuesday.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040112/1019000896_2.html> Bloomberg News,
1306 January 13, 2004

**Explorer Pipeline Resumes Normal Rates after Outage Last Weekend**

Explorer Pipeline Co., operator of the second-largest U.S. products
pipeline, said on Tuesday it has resumed normal rates after a power
outage forced the line shut last weekend. \"There was a power outage on
Saturday morning that caused the entire Texas-to-Chicago line to shut
down. It took about 40 hours to fix and now we\'re back at normal
rates,\" said Explorer spokesman Tom Jensen. The pipeline normally pumps
about 540,000 barrels of gasoline and distillates into the Midwest each
day. Cash market traders in the Group Three hub said on Tuesday the
delay in shipments was contributing to higher values for gasoline and
low sulphur diesel, which were each up about 0.50 cent a gallon for
prompt delivery.

Reuters, 1216 January 13, 2004

**Kerosene Prices Jump Sharply**\
Refiners hiked kerosene and low-sulfur No. 1 oil prices by 3 to 10 cents
per gallon. Price hikes covered many parts of the U.S. from the Rockies
to the Midwest to the East Coast. The jolt came as a result of suddenly
higher spot replacement costs. OPIS Price Watch Alert 937 January 13,
2004

**Natural Gas**

**Cold Pinches Northeast U.S. Natural Gas Supplies**\
Bitterly cold weather headed for the Northeast later this week has
forced some natural gas distributors to halt deliveries to some
businesses for the second time in a week to ensure there is enough gas
to meet home heating demand. The looming deep freeze is expected to
strain utilities\' capacity to deliver gas, forcing cuts to some
commercial and industrial firms that buy gas at a discount under
so-called interruptible contracts. Such customers know their supply may
be curtailed on short notice during peak demand periods. Consolidated
Edison Inc., a big New York area gas distributor that cut interruptible
customers last week, said it would ask them to switch again to back-up
fuels at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday. Public Service Electric and Gas Co.,
a unit of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc, which serves some 1.6
million New Jersey gas customers, also was forced to institute cuts this
week. Keyspan Energy said all New England interruptible customers have
been shut off since last week. A number of Northeast local distribution
companies were forced to take similar action last week as residents and
businesses turned up furnaces due to record cold.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040113/utilities_northeast_gas_1.html>

**Keyspan Says Weekend Gas Usage In Northeast US Breaks Records**\
Keyspan , the largest natural gas distributor in the Northeast, said
Monday that it had broken gas usage records over the past weekend. The
records were broken on Long Island, N.Y., and in locations in New
England. \"This week\'s cold spell has prompted Long Island customers to
consume approximately 56% more natural gas than is normally used during
this time of year,\" said the company in an announcement. The record,
dating to Jan. 23, 2003, was broken Friday and then broken again
Saturday. The all-time record was also broken in New England where
consumption was 79% above normal January daily demand. Consumption in
Brooklyn also came close to last year\'s record. The firm noted that
another cold wave is expected later this week but that it didn\'t
anticipate any supply problems in its service area.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/040112/1651001298_2.html>
<http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040112/125847_1.html>

**FERC Seeks Public Comment on Two U.S. LNG Projects**

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday asked for public
comment for a proposed pair of separate liquefied natural gas (LNG)
projects to be built on the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts. Cheniere
Energy wants FERC approval to construct two LNG receiving terminals to
be located in Sabine Pass, Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas. Each LNG
receiving terminal will have two unloading docks, three 160,000 cubic
meter tanks that could hold the equivalent of 10.1 billion cubic feet
(Bcf) of gas and the ability to import 2.6 Bcf per day of natural gas.
Both sites will be able to unload approximately 300 LNG tankers a year.
The agency also asked for public comment on Cheniere\'s plans to build
two natural gas pipelines, one to run 120 miles from the Sabine Pass
terminal site to Henry Hub and one that will run 25 miles from the
Corpus Christi terminal site to nearby interstate pipelines. IN related
news Cheniere Energy Inc. announced today it entered into an option
agreement with Atlantic Marine Inc. for the purchase of a potential LNG
receiving terminal site in an industrial zone on Pinto Island in Mobile
Bay, Ala.

Reuters 1556 January 12, 2004
<http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/040113/135846_1.html>

**Other News**

**Utilities Deal with Flooding as Tight Coal Supplies Grip East**

Eastern utilities with coal-fired plants along the inland river system
have apparently withstood the flooding that hit the Big Sandy, and, to a
lesser extent, the Kanawha and Ohio rivers last week. The flooding
delayed coal shipments and further pressured an already tight coal
market. But while the transportation interruptions may be over for now,
the lack of available coal may pose a far greater long-term problem for
fuel-starved utilities. <http://www.platts.com/stories/coal1.html>

**U.S., Canada Utility Executives Say Power Reliability Falling**

Executives at American Electric Power Co.., Ontario Power Generation
Inc. and other U.S. and Canadian

utilities say power-grid reliability is decreasing and competition in
wholesale markets is to blame, a survey found. The 2004 Electricity
Outlook survey, conducted by GF Energy LLC, surveyed 128 executives, 72
of whom responded. More than half of the U.S. executives said grid
reliability is decreasing, and more than 60 percent of those said
competition is responsible. About half the U.S. executives interviewed
and over 40 percent of the Canadians said a U.S. FERC plan to forge a
national wholesale power market won\'t

become a reality for at least four years. Only 28 percent of U.S.
executives said they think Congress and FERC will succeed in crafting a
national electricity policy, the survey showed.

Bloomberg News, 0800 January 13, 2004

**Power Outage Shuts Kuwaiti Refineries**\
Kuwait\'s three refineries, with a combined production capacity of
almost 900,000 barrels per day, have shut down due to a power outage
caused by a fire, traders said on Tuesday. The fire occurred at the
Shuaiba power plant around 1800 GMT on Monday, the sources said. The
refineries are expected to be down for at least two or three days,
traders said. \"There was a fire at the power plant. This plant supplies
power to the three refineries, which were shut down. The refineries are
not damaged,\" said an industry source. Traders said the 190,000-bpd
Shuaiba refinery had already been shut down for scheduled maintenance
when the outage occurred. The maintenance work started on January 3 and
was due to last until January 22. Kuwait\'s other refineries, the
442,700-bpd Mina al Ahmadi plant and the 256,500-bpd Mina Abdullah
plant, had been running at full capacity before the outage, traders
said. Oil traders were trying to assess the impact of the shutdowns on
the market. Kuwait is the world\'s biggest jet fuel exporter and a
leading supplier of distillates and fuel oil. \"The shutdown will affect
exports for all products,\" an industry source said. \"It sounds as if
they are going to have to remain shut for at least two or three days.
However, another industry source said he had been told there would be
limited impact from the shut downs.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/040112/energy_kuwait_shutdown_1.html>

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (1        | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /13/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 34.19     | 34.14     | 32.28      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 6.26      | 7.05      | 5.22       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **Henry Hub**                 |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Million Btu                |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+

> Source: Reuters, Wall Street Journal

**This Week in Petroleum** from the Energy Information Administration
(EIA)

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp)

Last Updated on January 7, 2004

**Weekly Petroleum Status Report** from EIA**\
**[*http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html*](http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_status_report/wpsr.html)

Updated after 1:00pm (Eastern time) on Wednesdays

**Natural Gas Weekly Update** from EIA

[*http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp*](http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/ngw/ngupdate.asp)

Last Updated on January 13, 2004