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ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY

November 25, 2003

**Electricity**

**Southern Company's Baxley Nuke Plant Powers Back Up to 98%**

Southern Company's 924 MW nuclear plant at Baxley, Georgia powered back
up to 98% power capacity after correcting a condensation feedwater
problem.

Source: Bloomberg, 0941 Nov 25 2003

**FirstEnergy's Perry 1 Nuke Temporarily Back to Full Power**

First Energy's Perry 1 1320 MW nuclear unit increased power up to 100%
of capacity yesterday at 8:00 pm after running some fuel tests. Fuel
testing will continue today and output will be cut again according to
company officials.

Source: Bloomberg, 0917 Nov 25 2003

**Alliant Energy's Duane Arnold Plants Starts To Ramp**

Alliant Energy's Duane Arnold 580 MW nuclear unit ramped up to 7%
capacity from 0%. The unit was shut last week to replace an expansion
joint that maintains a vacuum seal between the unit's turbine and
condenser.

Source: Bloomberg, 0857 Nov 25 2003

**Excelon's Braidwood 2 Nuke Plant Back Up to 100% Power**

Excelon's Braidwood 2 1150 MW Nuclear unit went back to full power
yesterday after repairing turbine leaks.

Source: Bloomberg, 2046 Nov 24 2003

# Trial Run of New California Electric Market Elements Goes Smoothly

A practice run of key elements of California\'s new electricity market
design has gone smoothly in the last week, though the state\'s grid
operator would like to see more participation in the trial, said Gregg
Fishman, spokesman for the state Independent System Operator. The new
design aims to correct flaws in the market that contributed to the high
wholesale power prices and the blackouts of California\'s 2000-01 energy
crisis. A trial began last week of two elements slated to be implemented
by Feb. 1.

<http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20031125_001908,00.html>

**Critics Decry Anti-Fire Blackouts**\
Some residents of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains are
unhappy about a new fire-prevention policy in which Southern California
Edison may intentionally shut off electric power in instances of high
winds and low humidity. A spokesman for the utility, Steve Conroy, said
Monday that the bark beetle infestation, which has killed hundreds of
thousands of trees in the mountains, has increased the possibility that
dead trees could be pushed onto Edison lines by heavy winds and spark
fires. Conroy said warnings of intentional blackouts were sent Saturday,
using automatic phone calls, to 30,000 homes in the mountain resorts in
response to a weather forecast that included windy conditions. Actual
conditions, however, did not reach the point where power had to be
turned off, he said. \"We face unprecedented conditions, which mandate
these protective operating procedures,\" he said. At least six
beetle-infested trees have fallen on power lines since the fires, and
workers are removing between 300 and 500 trees a day, he said. During
the October wildfires, Conroy said, Edison shut off power in four
communities for between 24 and 72 hours. In some of those instances, the
cutoff was more a protective move than one forced by the advance of
fires, he said.
<http://www.latimes.com/business/local/power/la-me-fires25nov25,0,377395.story?coll=la-headlines-business-power>

**Petroleum**

**Chevron to Restart 23,000 bpd Shut-In Nigeria Output**\
U.S. major ChevronTexaco said on Tuesday it will this week restart the
23,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) it halted in the southern Nigerian
swamps, after all 18 workers kidnapped by local militants were released.
A company spokesman said Chevron would restart 10,000 bpd oil production
on Tuesday and restore the balance by weekend.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/031125/energy_nigeria_production_1.html>

**Colonial Pipeline Freezes Gasoline Nominations from Texas**\
Colonial Pipeline froze gasoline nominations on its Texas-to-North
Carolina pipeline for the current 33rd cycle and put nominations for the
34th cycle on allocation, according to a company bulletin obtained by
Reuters on Tuesday. These actions were taken to allow Colonial to manage
volumes as the industry transitions to the new lower-sulfur gasoline,
Colonial said in the bulletin. The U.S. will require lower sulfur
content in gasoline starting Jan. 1, 2004, as it phases in new ultra-low
sulfur fuel regulations through to 2006. Pipeline freezes and
allocations restrict the amount of product suppliers can put into the
pipeline, and they typically happen when the demand for shipping space
exceeds the capacity on the line. The moves can cause a temporary
back-up of supply in the Gulf Coast, where the lion\'s share of U.S.
fuel is produced, and pressure regional prices lower.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031125/energy_colonial_gasoline_1.html>

**Mexico's Gulf Oil Ports Closed by Bad Weather** Three Gulf of Mexico
oil-loading ports that handle more than 90% of Mexico\'s 1.86 million
barrels per day of crude exports were all closed to shipping by bad
weather early Tuesday as a cold front moved through the southern Gulf,
the Ministry of Communications and Transportation reported. Only the
petrochemicals port of Altamira on the Gulf and the oil port of Salina
Cruz on the Pacific Coast remained open. <http://platts.com/>

**Natural Gas**

DOI: New Natural Gas Finds Equivalent to Three Years of Electricity

Interior Secretary Gale Norton today cited a new estimate released by
the Minerals Management Service that shows natural gas may be nearly
three times more abundant in the deep shelf of the Gulf of Mexico than
previously thought. \"We now believe as much as 55 trillion cubic feet
of natural gas exists in the deep shelf area of the Gulf of Mexico. If
converted into electricity, 55 trillion cubic feet of natural gas could
provide nearly a 3-year energy supply for every home in America,\"
Secretary Norton said.
<http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=144-11242003>

**Other News**

**Senate Won\'t Act Now on Energy Bill**

![](media/image3.png){width="1.0416666666666666e-2in"
height="1.0416666666666666e-2in"}Last evening, after Republican leaders
failed to round up the two votes needed to cut off debate, they declared
the legislation dead until next year\'s session. Scrambling Monday to
round up those votes, Senate Republican leaders and White House
officials had proposed stripping the bill of its controversial provision
to shield MTBE producers from liability for groundwater contamination.
Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham issued a statement late this morning
saying, "I'm confident that we will pass a comprehensive energy bill in
January."\
<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-energy25nov25,0,5315710.story?coll=la-headlines-nation>
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rm/031124/energy_congress_fail_1.html>
<http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=119-11252003>

# 

# Akron, Ohio-Based FirstEnergy Says Nuclear Plant Ready to Restart

# FirstEnergy Corp. says its Davis-Besse nuclear power plant is ready to restart. The Akron utility filed a 180-page document on Monday with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission saying that all major work to get the troubled plant in Northwest Ohio ready to make electricity again has been completed or will be done this week. The filing of the report, which FirstEnergy earlier this month announced it would do this week, actually kicks off the restart process. Among other things, the NRC still needs to complete a major inspection, and a public meeting needs to be held before the regulatory agency makes a decision. But FirstEnergy said, in its opinion, the Lake Erie shorefront plant, which has been kept shut down since February 2002 after a large rust hole was found on top of the reactor, can be ready to power up before the end of the year.

[*http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knsoZZghmqsutXUkg%22EN%26bfeiZv*](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knsoZZghmqsutXUkg"EN%26bfeiZv)

**Swiss Officials Make Recommendations After Italy Blackout**

Swiss authorities Tuesday blamed domestic shortcomings and a lack of
clear international transmission guidelines for September\'s power cut
that left more than 55 million Italians in the dark. The blackout was
caused by a tree which hit a power transmission line in Switzerland. In
a report on the blackout, the Swiss energy office said rules regulating
how close trees can be to power lines, for example, may be obsolete. The
office recommends that Swiss owners of transmission lines establish an
independent grid company, and that Switzerland puts in place a regulator
for the industry.

[*http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20031125_001291,00.html*](http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,BT_CO_20031125_001291,00.html)

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (11       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /25/03)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 30.00     | 33.28     | 27.08      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 4.49      | 4.50      | 4.29       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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 November 19, 2003

**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 November 20, 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