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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**December 15, 2003**

Electricity

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  **Pacific Gas and Electric Company Restores Power after Weekend Storm**

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As anticipated, a fast moving storm packed with heavy winds and rain hit
northern and central California late Saturday evening and early Sunday
morning. Winds in excess of 60 miles per hour swept through the area,
knocking down trees and causing nearly 116,000 customers to lose power.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company crews worked through the night,
restoring power to more than 105,000 customers - more than 90 percent.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031214/nysu016_1.html>

**Monday Morning Storm Knocks Out Power to Some on East Coast\
**The storms blacked out some 14,000 customers in Springfield,
Massachusetts, Monday morning, Western Massachusetts Electric Co.
reported. Power has been restored to about 16,000 customers who were
also blacked out by the storm in North Carolina, utilities said. Some
flights were canceled or delayed at Boston\'s Logan International
Airport. Portland International Jetport in Maine also had delays and
cancellations. CNN 1259 15 Dec 2003

![](media/image2.png){width="1.0416666666666666e-2in"
height="1.0416666666666666e-2in"}**Transformer Blowout Knocks Out Power
to Thousands in Florida Thursday** All 16,000 customers of Homestead\'s
power company lost electricity Thursday evening \-- with some homes and
businesses still in the dark late into the night. A transformer blowout
was apparently to blame, said Mayor Roscoe Warren. In West Kendall,
about 2,500 Florida Power & Light customers were also without power for
about an hour after an 8 p.m. equipment failure, according to a company
spokesman. <http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/7475934.htm>

**Exelon Illinois Dresden 2 Nuke Plant Shutdown for Thursday, Up Again
Saturday**\
Exelon Nuclear said it manually shut its 800 megawatt Dresden 2 nuclear
unit in Illinois on Thursday due to an unexpected stator water cooling
runback. The plant was restarted on Saturday December 13.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031212/utilities_exelon_dresden_1.html>
Bloomberg 1133 December 15 2003

**NPPD's Cooper 1 Nuke Plant Back Up After Unplanned Outage**\
Nebraska Public Power District increased production at its 780 Megawatt
Cooper 1 nuclear plant after the output was held for feedwater control
system testing following completion of unplanned feed pump controller
maintenance. Bloomberg 0909 December 15 2003

**AEP Cuts Cook 2 Nuke Plant Production for Valve Repairs**\
American Electric Power Co.'s 1090 Megawatt Cook 2 nuclear plant in
Michigan reduced production to 2% yesterday in order to perform steam
generator feedwater valve repairs. Bloomberg 1026 December 15 2003

**Exelon Confirms LaSalle 1 Nuke Plant at Capacity**\
Exelon Nuclear said it increased production at its 1147 Megawatt LaSalle
1 nuclear unit to capacity at 1:00 am local time Saturday after
completion of electrical pump repairs. Bloomberg 1124 December 15 2003

**Petroleum**

**Power Cuts Slowed at Two or Three Texas Oil Refineries Friday** Three
refineries in Corpus Christi, Texas, owned by Koch industries, Citgo,
and Valero, were disrupted by power failures on Friday according to
Bloomberg energy services. The power failure shut a fluid catalytic
cracking unit and a crude distillation unit at the Koch refineries (also
known as Flint Hills). No information was reported on what was shut down
at Citgo and Valero facilities. The Koch refineries process about
300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Citgo's refinery can process
150,000 barrels per day. Valero's refinery can process 340,000 barrels
per day. Oil Price Information Service (OPIS) reports that the Valero
refinery was not hampered by the power outages, and that the Citgo
refinery was forced to reduce rates as a result of the outage for less
than 24 hours. OPIS reports that the Koch (Flint Hills) refinery has a
45,000 barrel per day fluid cracking unit downed for unplanned
maintenance as a result of the power outage. Another 60,000 barrel per
day Flint Hills unit is also down for planned maintenance. Bloomberg
1424 December 15, 2003 OPIS Price Watch Alert ,1613 December 15, 2003

**Colonial Pipeline Frees Space for Gasoline, Space for Distillate
Tight** On Friday Colonial pipeline freed up space on its allocated
35^th^ cycle for gasoline shipments from Pasadena, TX to Greensboro, NC.
Shipments on this cycle had been restricted since December 3. Colonial
also reported that it does not have enough space to ship all orders by
shippers of distillate fuel on this line during its 36^th^ cycle amid
high demand. Reuters 1656 December 12, 2003

**Saddam Arrest Drives Down Oil Prices in Early Trading on Monday, May
Curb Oil Sabotage, Boost Exports** Saddam Hussein\'s capture should make
it easier for Baghdad to protect its vital northern oil export pipeline
from sabotage attacks and boost supplies to world markets, a top Iraqi
oil official said on Sunday. Dealers see oil prices easing by at least
50 cents when markets reopen in Tokyo on Monday on the prospect that
Iraq may soon resume oil exports from its giant Kirkuk field for the
first time since the U.S.-led invasion in March. Oil prices for January
dropped \$1.30 or about 3.9% in early trading. Bargain hunters reversed
the downward spiral, but prices were still up about 2% for the day.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031214/energy_iraq_saddam_2.html>
CBS.Marketwatch.com 0236 ET December 15, 2003 Reuters 2240 December 14,
2003 Reuters 1500 December 15, 2003

**Natural Gas**

# Natural Gas Prices Surge Since Thanksgiving, Senate to Probe Increase

Natural gas prices have surged 46% since Thanksgiving, despite an
apparent lack of events that normally create such spikes, like tight
supplies or forecasts of unusually cold weather. Senator Orrin Hatch
said Friday that he will hold hearings next month into whether the
latest spike in U.S. natural gas prices was caused by price fixing among
energy firms and traders of some other illegal activity. Oil Daily
Monday December 15, 2003 New York Times, December 13, 2003 Pittsburgh
Post Gazette, December 13, 2003

**Millennium Gas Pipeline Project Dead**

US Department of Commerce Secretary Donald Evans on Monday upheld New
York state\'s objection to the Millennium gas pipeline project, which
could have brought 700,000 Mcf/d of Canadian gas to the New York
metropolitan area. The oft-delayed project won approval over a year ago
from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but New York state
objected to the project primarily because the pipeline would cross the
Hudson River at Haverstraw Bay, which the state has designated a
Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitat. In response to the
state\'s protests, Millennium filed an appeal with the Dept. of Commerce
under the Coastal Zone Management Act. In refusing to override New
York\'s objection on Monday, Evans concluded that the gas pipeline could
be rerouted to avoid environmental harm to the New York areas.
<http://www.platts.com/stories/gas1.html>

**Other News**

**US Homeland Security Issues Warning on Petroleum Carriers**

The US Department of Homeland Security has issued a security alert for
operators of bulk petroleum transporters, according to the Society of
Independent Gasoline Marketers of America. \"They report five recent
incidents on the East Coast involving overt monitoring of, and possible
attempts to interdict, bulk fuel trucks,\" said the group in its weekly
report released Monday, adding, \"whether the incidents are related to
attempts to steal fuel or are related to planned terrorist attacks is
unknown.\" <http://www.platts.com/stories/oil2.html>

**Alabama Opposes FERC Ordering AEP to Join PJM Grid**\
The Alabama Public Service Commission said a Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission decision ordering American Electric Power Co. Inc. to join in
a regional transmission grid may affect regulators\' ability to enforce
state law. In a closely watched case at FERC, the U.S. agency last month
overruled objections from Virginia and Kentucky regulators and ordered
AEP to join the PJM Interconnection LLC grid to meet conditions of its
2000 merger with Central and South West Corp. The Alabama Public Service
Commission, in a filing made public on Monday, asked FERC for permission
to intervene in the AEP case. The case is pending before FERC in docket
ER03-262. <http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031215/utilities_aep_1.html>

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (12       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /15/03)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 33.16     | 32.04     | 28.50      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 6.63      | 6.06      | 5.08       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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 December 10, 2003

**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 December 11, 2003