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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**December 14, 2004**

**Electricity**

**South Texas Project Nuclear Reactor Reduces Output for Repairs**

Output from the 1,250 MW Unit 1 at the South Texas Project nuclear
generating station southwest of Houston was reduced to 23 percent of
capacity last night for repair of a steam leak. The leak has been
repaired, and the reactor was operating at 40 percent of capacity as of
Tuesday morning on its way back to full power, plant spokesman Edward
Conway said.

Bloomberg, 09:35, December 14, 2004

**Update: PSEG To Return Both Salem Units To The Grid This Week**

\[Initially reported in EAD 12-13-04, this update adds information and
clarifies sequence of events\]

PSEG Nuclear Monday said it is preparing to restart its two 1,115-MW
Salem nuclear units, which were shut down following an oil tanker
spilled crude into the Delaware River, the New Jersey plants\' source of
cooling water. As of Tuesday morning unit 2 is operating at about 18
percent of capacity up from 2 percent on Monday. According to a company
spokesman the unit is not yet delivering power to the grid and the
company was unable to say when the unit would be connected to the grid
or reach full power. Unit 2 was shut Dec 3 and unit 1 shut on Dec 4 in
response to the Nov 26 spill. Monitoring equipment showed that
conditions in the river would not affect the company\'s ability to
safely operate the plant

Bloomberg, 09:47, December 14, 2004

Platts December 13, 2004

[http://www.platts.com/Electric%20Power/headlines.jsp](http://www.platts.com/Electric Power/headlines.jsp)

**PA Peach Bottom 2 Nuke Holds at 66 Percent Power**

Chicago-based Exelon Corp.\'s 1,110-megawatt Peach Bottom 2 nuclear unit
in Pennsylvania was holding at 66 percent power early Tuesday, a plant
spokesman said. Output was reduced late Monday morning when the plant
experienced some recirculation system runback, which signaled to the
reactor that power was too high, the spokesman said. \"We are sitting at
66 percent power while we figure out what happened,\" he said, adding
the investigation into the cause was continuing.\
Reuters, 1322 December 14, 2004

# Update \-- Exelon\'s Ill. Dresden 2 Nuke up to 96 Percent Power

Chicago-based energy company Exelon Corp.\'s 800-megawatt Dresden 2
nuclear unit in Illinois ramped up to 96 percent power early Tuesday,
the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in its power reactor status
report. On Monday, the unit, which was shut since Nov. 1 to fix a
generator shaft problem, was operating at 79 percent power.

Reuters, 1734 December 14, 2004

**Update: Winds clip power to thousands**

\[Initially reported in EAD 12-13-04, this update adds detail on the
total number of customers affected by the outages\]

More than 20,000 households spent part of Sunday, December 12, without
electricity as east winds with gusts exceeding 60 mph knocked trees onto
houses and power lines in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon.
Portland General Electric (PGE) reported about over 16,000 customers
without power on Sunday morning. Many of those customers had power
restored by mid-afternoon, but two other incidents kept the number of
households without power near 17,000. By Sunday evening, power had been
restored to all but 6,500 PGE customers.

<http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1102942761152200.xml>

# Upgrade to Path 15 Transmission Line Completed Tuesday

Dealers noted that the upgrade to Path 15, the key transmission link
between northern and southern California, was due to be officially
opened on Tuesday. The upgrade will increase capacity to about 5,400
megawatts from about 3,900 MW previously.\
Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

**OPG's 515 MW Pickering 4 Nuke Shut Down on December 13**\
Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

**OPG's 501 MW Lambton 3 Coal-fired Unit Shut Down on December 13**\
Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

# Ormond Beach 775 MW Gas-fired Unit 2 Back in Service

Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

# Mirant's 337 MW Contra Costa 7 Gas-fired Plant Shut Down

Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

# Reliant's 319 MW Etiwanda 3 Gas-fired Plant in CA Shut Down on Dec 13

Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

# 

# SCE's 450 MW Mohave 2 Coal-fired Plant in NV Shut Down on Dec 13

Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

# 

# Xcel's 360 MW Harrington 2Coal-fired Plant Shut Down on Dec 13

Reuters, 1551 December 14, 2004

**Petroleum**

**El Paso, FPL To Combine Resources To Bring Natural Gas To Florida**

FPL Group Resources and subsidiaries of El Paso Corp on Tuesday agreed
to combine development efforts and resources to bring natural gas
supplies to southern Florida. FPL Group Resources is a subsidiary of FPL
Group, which is affiliated with Tractebel North America. Upon completion
of a series of new agreements, all three parties will have the ability
to come together to create the most efficient project, the companies
said.

Platts December 14, 2004

[http://www.platts.com/Natural%20Gas/headlines.jsp](http://www.platts.com/Natural Gas/headlines.jsp)

**Shell Resolves Dispute In Nigeria**

Shell Nigeria Monday said it had resolved a dispute between it and a
local community in Nigeria that had shut two of the company\'s
flowstations in the Rivers State, in the Niger Delta. Hundreds of Kula
villagers last Sunday, invaded Shell\'s Ekulama 1 and 2 flowstations,
forcing the company to shut in 70,000 b/d. Technical problems at two
other flowstations shut in an additional 30,000 b/d. The villagers also
invaded a flowstation operated by ChevronTexaco, shutting in 20,000 b/d.
The end of the protest saw more than 100 oil workers, who had been
trapped on board the stations, freed. A spokesman for the Rivers State
government last week said the protesters hoped to persuade the oil
companies to spend more on local development.

Platts December 13, 2004

<http://www.platts.com/Oil/headlines.jsp>

**BP Begins Holstein Production in Deepwater Gulf of Mexico**

BP on Tuesday announced start-up of oil and natural gas production from
the Holstein development; located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico,
approximately 100 miles South of Grand Isle, La. BP is the Operator of
Holstein with a 50% working interest. Shell also has a 50% working
interest. Located in approximately 4,300 feet of water in Green Canyon
Block 645, the Holstein spar is the largest of its kind in the world.
Production began on December. 9 and will increase over the next year as
additional wells are completed and brought online. At peak production,
the facility will produce more than 100,000 barrels of oil and 90
million standard cubic feet of gas per day.\
<http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/041214/145576_1.html>

# Natural Gas

**Crosstex Announces Major Pipeline for Barnett Shale Gas**

Crosstex Energy, L.P. on Monday announced that it had entered into
agreements with producers in the Fort Worth Basin that would support a
major pipeline project to bring gas out of the Barnett Shale and into
major pipelines that serve markets in Texas and the Midwestern and
Eastern United States. Based on commitments it has received from
producers to date, Crosstex will build a 110-mile, 24-inch pipeline from
a point north of Fort Worth, Texas (Justin area) to interconnect with
Natural Gas Pipeline of America and Houston Pipeline Company in Lamar
County, Texas. The estimated capital cost of the project is \$80 million
and it is expected to be completed by January 2006. Crosstex has engaged
an engineering firm to complete a project feasibility study by January
15, 2005.

[http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp%5EZkqoouuqVThew11rbfej%5Bv](http://powermarketers.netcontentinc.net/newsreader.asp?ppa=8knpp^ZkqoouuqVThew11rbfej%5Bv)

**Other News**

**Nothing to Report**

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (12       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /14/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 41.76     | 41.51     | 31.72      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 7.10      | 6.03      | 6.52       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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