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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**December 17, 2004**

**Electricity**

**Wisconsin Utilities See Record Electricity Demand This Week**

Demand for electricity reached a record winter peak this week across
eastern Wisconsin, four utilities said Wednesday. A rebounding economy
and an affinity for outdoor holiday lighting contributed to the jump in
demand, utility representatives said. Setting new records Monday were
Milwaukee-based We Energies, Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service
Corp. and both Madison-based utilities, Wisconsin Power & Light Co. and
Madison Gas & Electric Co.

<http://www.energycentral.com/centers/news/daily/article.cfm?aid=5345936>

**Bomb Found at NIPSCO Facility in Gary, Indiana\
**A power outage on the city's east side led NIPSCO workers to a
substation where they found a homemade bomb that had failed to detonate,
police said Thursday. Investigators said it was unclear how long the
device, which consisted of a couple of aerosol cans taped together, fuel
and a piece of charred paper, had been inside the substation. "They
tried to start it, but were unsuccessful," FBI Supervisory Senior Agent
Chuck Porucznik said. Fencing behind the building had been cut to allow
someone entry to the property, but the damage did not appear recent, he
added. The last time NIPSCO workers were at the substation was early
November, Porucznik said. The discovery came after a power outage hit
the Marshalltown subdivision and area to the east about 7:12 a.m.
Thursday. Electricity was restored before 9 a.m. to the 2,771 customers
affected, she said.\
<http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/12-17-04_z1_news_10.html>

**AEP Sees Texas Welsh Coal-Fired Unit 1 Back Soon**

American Electric Power Co Inc. expects its 528-megawatt Welsh 1
coal-fired power unit in Texas will likely return to service December
18-22 following work on the boiler and precipitator. The Welsh plant is
located in the town of Cason in Titus County about 130 miles east of
Dallas.

Reuters 0813, December 17, 2004

**TXU Shuts Texas Sandow Coal-Fired Unit 4, Seen Back Soon**

TXU Corp.\'s 553-megawatt Sandow unit 4 coal-fired generating facility
shutdown December 16-17 to repair a boiler tube leak, the company told
Texas regulators in a report. In a separate report, the company said the
unit will likely return to service on about December 19-20\
Reuters 0808, December 17, 2004

**Texas Genco Sees Its Limestone Coal-Fired Unit 2 Returning To
Service**

Texas Genco LLC expects its 846-megawatt Limestone unit 2 coal-fired
generating facility to return to service after shutting earlier in the
day, the company told Texas regulators in a report.

Reuters 0800, December 17, 2004

# Palo Verde 1 Reactor in Arizona Boosts Output After Repair

Pinnacle West Capital Corp.\'s Palo Verde Unit 1 reactor in Arizona
began approaching full power this

morning after reducing production to 40 percent of capacity yesterday to
repair computer-monitoring equipment. \`\`We\'re at about 90 percent of
capacity now on our way to full power,\'\' said Sheri Foote, a
spokeswoman for Pinnacle West\'s Arizona Public Service Co. of Phoenix.\
Bloomberg News, 1338 December 17, 2004

**AES Alamitos 5 Power Plant Back**

AES Corp. increased the potential power output of its 480-megawatt unit
5 at the Alamitos gas-fired power station in California by late
Thursday, the California Independent System Operator said in a report.
By late Thursday AES had curtailed the unit\'s power output by just 15
MW for unplanned reasons, compared with a curtailment of 305 MW early
Thursday for planned and unplanned reasons. The 2,123 MW Alamitos plant
is located in Long Beach in Los Angeles County about 25 miles south of
Los Angeles.

Reuters 0735, December 17, 2004

**PSEG's Salem Unit 1 Exits Outage, Output Up To 60 Percent**

The 1,150MW unit 1 at the Salem nuclear generating station of Public
Service Enterprise Group Inc in New Jersey exited an outage and ramped
up to 60 percent of capacity by early Friday. The company shut both
1,150 MW Salem units 1 and 2 by December 4 due to an oil spill in the
Delaware River. Unit 1 (OEA comment: should be "Unit 2") which exited
its outage earlier in the week, was operating at full power on Friday.
The Salem station is located in Salem, New Jersey, about 40 miles south
of Philadelphia.

Reuters 0715, December 17, 2004

**TXU's Monticello Coal-Fired Unit 3 Shutdown, Seen Back Soon**

TXU Corp.\'s 750-megawatt Monticello unit 3 coal-fired generating
facility in Texas shut and will likely restart on Dec. 16 due to a
problem with the de-aerator, the company told Texas regulators in a
report. The 1,880 MW Monticello station is located in the town of Mount
Pleasant in Titus County about 250 miles north of Houston.

Reuters 0819, December 17, 2004

**APS's Four Corners 410 MW Coal-fired Unit in NM Shutdown December 17,
2004.**

Reuters 1340 December 17, 2004

**CDWR's Hyatt-Therm 933MW Hydro facility in CA Shutdown December 17,
2004.**

Reuters 1340 December 17, 2004

**Calpine's Sutter 277MW Gas-fired facility in CA Shutdown December 17,
2004.**

Reuters 1340 December 17, 2004

**USBR's Hoover Dam 234 MW Unit Shutdown December 17, 2004.**

Reuters 1340 December 17, 2004

**OPG's Lambton 494 MW Coal-fired Unit 3 Shutdown December 17, 2004.**

Reuters 1320, December 17, 2004

**OPG's Nanticoke 490 MW Coal-fired Unit 1 Shutdown December 17, 2004.**

Reuters 1320, December 17, 2004

**Petroleum**

**Bin Laden Urges Fighters to Strike Oil Facilities\
**Osama bin Laden has urged militants to concentrate their attacks on
Iraqi and Gulf oil facilities, saying it was the most powerful weapon
against America, said a transcript of a tape played on the Internet.
<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=574&e=1&u=/nm/20041217/wl_nm/security_binladen_oil_dc_3>

**Oil Jumps 5 Percent on Cold, Bin Laden Threat**\
Oil prices surged 5 percent on Friday as frigid weather lingered in the
mammoth U.S. Northeast heating oil market and militant Osama bin Laden
urged renewed attacks on Middle East oil installations. U.S. light crude
soared \$2.10 to \$46.28 a barrel, bringing this week\'s gains to 14
percent and prices to their highest level since early December. London
Brent was up \$1.96 at \$43.39 a barrel.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/041217/markets_oil_9.html>

**Heating Oil Heads for Biggest Weekly Rise in 4 Years on Weather\
**Heating oil in New York rose, heading for its largest weekly gain
since January 2000, as falling temperatures in the U.S. will likely
raise fuel demand.\
Bloomberg news, 1444 December 17, 2004

**ExxonMobil Torrance Refinery Units Returning to Service**\
Units at Exxon Mobil Corp.\'s Torrance, Calif., refinery began returning
to service late Wednesday after repairs were completed on an air
compressor that broke down Dec. 3, South Coast Air Quality Management
District spokeswoman Tina Cherry said. The company cut crude runs as a
result of the breakdown and sold spot crude oil and vacuum gasoil during
the interim, traders said. Sources close to Exxon Mobil\'s refinery said
the refinery should be fully operational with on spec products by this
weekend. Sources doing business with Exxon Mobil said units including
the hydrotreater, fluid catalytic cracker and coker were affected. Coker
problems were also evident at cokers owned and operated by BP PLC and
Valero Energy Corp. during the same time period.
<http://money.iwon.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt.jsp?cat=USMARKET&src=704&feed=dji&section=news&news_id=dji-00100920041217&date=20041217&alias=/alias/money/cm/nw>

# Natural Gas

######### Northern Natural Gas Declares Force Majeure in Minnesota

######### **Northern hereby provides notice that a Force Majeure situation exists at the Farmington, Minnesota compressor station due to a mechanical problem. The potential impact of this unplanned outage will vary depending upon weather and load conditions. On peak load days, some level of allocation may be required north of the Farmington compressor station; however, Northern does not anticipate having to allocate or curtail any primary firm deliveries. Preliminary indications are that the length of the Force Majeure could extend up to two months. Northern will provide updates as information becomes available.**

######### [**http://www.northernnaturalgas.com/infopostings/asp/atAGlanceNotices.asp?id_priority=Y&company=179#19321**](http://www.northernnaturalgas.com/infopostings/asp/atAGlanceNotices.asp?id_priority=Y&company=179#19321)

######### Northern Natural Gas Calls for System Overrun Limitation in MN, IA WI **Due to below zero minimum temperatures in the Zone E/F area (MN, IA, WI) a SOL day is being called for the gas day of Saturday 12/18/04. DDVC penalties are applicable to the bumped shipper\'s quantity.** [**http://www.northernnaturalgas.com/infopostings/asp/atAGlanceNotices.asp?id_priority=Y&company=179#19321**](http://www.northernnaturalgas.com/infopostings/asp/atAGlanceNotices.asp?id_priority=Y&company=179#19321)

**Alaska\'s North Slope Producers Propose Building Natural Gas
Pipeline**\
Alaska\'s three largest North Slope oil producers are proposing to build
a pipeline to bring North America\'s largest natural gas reserves to the
lower 48 states. ExxonMobil Corp., ConocoPhillips and BP own Alaska\'s
natural gas. Gov. Frank Murkowski said Thursday he received a joint
proposal Wednesday from the companies after months of negotiations.
\"For the first time ever, the producers have made a proposal to build a
natural gas pipeline,\" the governor said. \"We finally have a concrete
proposal from the producers who hold the gas leases.\" The project is a
top priority, said BP and ConocoPhillips Co. ExxonMobil did not
immediately return a call for comment.\
<http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/041217/gas_pipeline_3.html>\
\
**Frigid Forecast Drives Up U.S. Spot Natgas Prices\
**U.S. spot natural gas prices for the weekend moved up sharply on
Friday, driven by colder Northeast and Midwest weather forecasts for
next week, despite still-high inventories, traders said. Gas for weekend
delivery on Transco at the New York city gate was by far the day\'s
biggest gainer ahead of the season\'s second shot of arctic air, surging
\$1.36 to \$9 per million British thermal units. Benchmark Henry Hub gas
for weekend delivery on average jumped 38 cents to \$7.26. The latest
National Weather Service six-to-10-day forecast, issued Thursday, called
for below-normal temperatures for most of the nation, except along the
East Coast, where seasonal readings were expected.\
Reuters 1506, December 17, 2004

**Other News**

Nothing to report.

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (12       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /17/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 46.31     | 40.60     | 33.36      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 7.26      | 6.04      | 6.56       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **Henry Hub**                 |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Million Btu                |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+

> Source: Reuters

**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)

Updated on Wednesdays

**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)

Updated after 2:00 pm (Eastern Time) on Thursdays