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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

###### August 4, 2004

**Electricity**

**\*BRUNSWICK 2 NUCLEAR-POWER PRODUCTION AT 88%, NRC SAYS**

**2004-08-04 08:11 (New York)**

**Nine Mile Point 2 at 100% Following Maintenance, Company Says**

**2004-08-04 12:15 (New York)**

**Lycoming, New York, Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) \-- The following**

**nuclear-power plant increased electricity production,**

**according to the company that owns the plant.**

**Plant: Nine Mile Point 2**

**Owner: Constellation Energy Group**

**Location: Lycoming, New York**

**Capacity: 1,148 Megawatts**

**Output: 100% (up from 55% from the previous report)**

**Event: The plant was down powered Tuesday night for**

**maintenance. Power ascension started around**

**3am today and the plant is now at full power.**

**Source: Jill Lyon, Company official**

**\--Bloomberg**

**Vogtle 2 Nuclear-Power plant Operating at 72%, Company Says**

**2004-08-04 12:06 (New York)**

**Waynesboro, Georgia, Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) \-- The following**

**nuclear-power plant is operating at reduced production,**

**according to the company that owns the plant.**

**Plant: Vogtle 2**

**Owner: Southern Co.**

**Location: Waynesboro, Georgia**

**Capacity: 1,215 Megawatts**

**Output: 72% (down from 87% from the previous report)**

**Event: The plant was down powered while inspectors**

**investigate a decrease in the cool power level.**

**Source: Regina Waller, Company official**

**\--Bloomberg \\**

**Reuters**\
**UPDATE - Entergy to shut N.Y. FitzPatrick nuke for work**\
Wednesday August 4, 8:01 am ET

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Entergy Corp.
(NYSE:[ETR](http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=etr) -
[News](http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=etr)) will take its 762 megawatt
FitzPatrick nuclear unit in New York off line to fix a hydraulic leak on
a temperature control valve on the main turbine, a spokeswoman said
Wednesday.

Spokeswoman Bonnie Bostian said, however, the company did not plan to
shut the reactor, just put it into hot shutdown without producing
electricity for the grid.

She said the company planned to fix the problem and return the unit to
service without conducting additional work.

Electricity traders said the company was probably not doing other work
because Entergy will shut the unit in a few months for a refuelling
outage. That outage was expected to start in early October, according to
traders, and last about a month.

The last time the unit, which is on a 24-month cycle, shut for
refuelling was Oct. 7-20, 2002.

Early Wednesday, the unit was operating at 44 percent of capacity, down
from 95 percent early Tuesday. One MW powers 1,000 homes, according to
the national average.

The FitzPatrick station is located in Scriba, New York, about 90 miles
east of Rochester, New York.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040804/utilities_entergy_fitzpatrick_4.html>

**Fitzpatrick 1 Nuclear Plant Operating at 44%, Company Says**

**2004-08-04 12:02 (New York)**

**Lycoming, New York, Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) \-- The following**

**nuclear-power plant is operating at reduced production,**

**according to the company that owns the plant.**

**Plant: FitzPatrick**

**Owner: Entergy Corp.**

**Location: Lycoming, New York**

**Capacity: 825 Megawatts**

**Output: 44% (down from 87% from the previous report)**

**Event: The plant reduced power to repair a leak in an**

**electro hydraulic control valve in the main turbine.**

**Source: Bonnie Bostian, Company official**

**\--Bloomberg**

**Reuters**\
**UPDATE - Constellation fixes, ramps up NY Nine Mile 2 nuke**\
Wednesday August 4, 7:36 am ET

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Constellation Energy Group Inc. was
increasing power at its 1,148 megawatt Nine Mile Point 2 nuclear unit in
New York after fixing a problem with the emergency power supply, a
spokeswoman said Wednesday. Late Tuesday, the company started to shut
the plant due to the power supply problem. But the problem has since
been fixed, said spokeswoman Jill Lyon, and the plant was increasing
power.

Early Wednesday, the unit was operating at 55 percent of capacity, down
from full power early Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the adjacent 609 MW Unit 1 continued to operate at full
power. One MW powers 1,000 homes, according to the national average.

The Nine Mile Point station is located in Scriba, New York, about 90
miles east of Rochester, New York.

Constellation, which owns all of Unit 1, operates the Nine Mile station.
Unit 2 is owned by Constellation with 82 percent and Long Island Power
Authority with 18 percent.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/040804/utilities_constellation_ninemile_3.html>

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  **ASU cutting back on power use during crunch**

  By Rosa Cirianni, Tribune

  Hallways and bathrooms are dark, soda machine lights are out, and some
  administration building employees have learned a different way of
  identifying each other.

  "It's like, 'Oh, I know who that is by their walk down the hallway,' "
  said Nancy Neff, an Arizona State University spokeswoman.\
  \
  ASU is trying to do its part to ease the Valley's power crunch. "We're
  supposed to keep the lights off, but sometimes you need to see
  something," said Shannon Todd, a student employee. Many thermostats
  have been turned up as high as 82 degrees. Dawn Phelps had her window
  shade down in her office and a fan blowing in her direction to
  circulate air Monday.\
  \
  "It's uncomfortably hot in here," said Phelps, ASU graduate student
  services coordinator.\
  \
  Since many of the university's buildings have lots of windows, the
  effect of no lights has not been such a burden. And, as typical for
  this time of year, residence halls and classroom buildings are deserted
  and dark.\
  \
  Arizona Public Service Co. has asked customers to conserve energy
  between 3 and 6 p.m. daily since a July 4 fire that destroyed five of
  14 transformers at a substation. APS spokesman Damon Gross said the
  utility has had a decrease of between 200 and 300 megawatts daily. One
  megawatt powers 250 average-size homes.\
  \
  "Everyone's done a tremendous amount, and we can't say enough for
  everyone's support," Gross said. "That's what's gotten us through."\
  \
  A transformer made its way to the Peoria substation Saturday after a
  21-day journey from California. APS expects that once the 190-ton
  transformer is up and running by mid-August, the company will be able
  to meet peak demand. <http://www.aztrib.com/index.php?sty=25746>

  *Contact Rosa Cirianni by [email](mailto:rcirianni@aztrib.com), or
  phone (480) 970*
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

**Petroleum**

**Reuters**\
**Oil Drops on U.S. Gasoline Supply, YUKOS**\
Wednesday August 4, 2:37 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices pulled back from fresh 21-year highs on
Wednesday after weekly U.S. government data showed oil product supplies
jumped and beleaguered Russian oil giant YUKOS assured it would be free
to use its bank accounts to keep exports flowing.

U.S. crude fell \$1.00 at \$43.15 a barrel, after earlier striking
\$44.30, the highest since oil futures were launched on the New York
Mercantile Exchange in 1983.

Brent crude fell 44 cents to \$40.20 a barrel, easing from a record high
earlier of \$40.99. That was the highest level since London\'s
International Petroleum Exchange launched trading in Brent futures in
1988.

Oil prices have risen by more than one-third since the end of 2003 on
worries that accelerating global demand has left supplies tightly
stretched with little leeway for disruption.

In recent weeks oil prices have also been rallying as the Kremlin has
demanded billions of dollars of taxes for 2000 from YUKOS, the
country\'s largest oil exporter.

But YUKOS on Wednesday said bailiffs had informed them that it could use
its bank accounts to finance core operations, a move to alleviate fears
over possible disruptions to the company\'s exports.

In its weekly data, the U.S. Energy Information Agency said gasoline
stocks rose 2.4 million barrels last week to 210.1 million barrels.
Analysts had expected stocks to fall 600,000 barrels due to peak summer
demand from vacation drivers.

U.S. distillate stocks rose 2.1 million barrels, above analysts\'
expectations for a rise of 1.4 million barrels.
<http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/040804/markets_oil_9.html>

**Saudi Arabia Opens Fields Before Plan, Lifts Capacity (Update4)**

**2004-08-04 14:45 (New York)**

**Saudi Arabia Opens Fields Before Plan, Lifts Capacity (Update4)**

**(Updates oil price in seventh paragraph, OPEC statement in**

**10th, analyst comment in 14th, last paragraphs.)**

**By Sean Evers**

**Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) \-- Saudi Arabia, the world\'s largest oil**

**producer, has started pumping at two new fields three months ahead**

**of schedule and may delay the shutdown of older wells to ease**

**concern of a lack of capacity to supply oil.**

**The development of the offshore Abu Safah oil fields and the**

**mostly onshore Qatif fields may boost the nation\'s output capacity**

**by 800,000 barrels a day, or 8 percent, when full commissioning is**

**completed in as long as three months, said spokesmen for state-**

**owned Saudi Aramco in Dhahran.**

**Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi on June 30 said his nation**

**will take steps to prevent rising oil prices from damaging the**

**world economy. Crude oil prices slid after reaching a record**

**\$44.34 a barrel in New York, as the Saudi statement eased concern**

**about limited production capacity and Russia\'s OAO Yukos Oil Co.**

**said its bank accounts were freed to fund oil production.**

**\`\`It\'s significant that the Saudis are reassuring the market**

**that the capacity situation can be addressed,\'\' said Ann-Louise**

**Hittle, an oil analyst at Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. in**

**Edinburgh. \`\`It will help within the next few months because it**

**widens out the spare capacity margin. In the meantime, the market**

**is worried that if a supply disruption occurs, the margin is very**

**low.\'\'**

**Eni SpA\'s engineering subsidiary, Snamprogetti, Technip SA**

**and General Dynamics Corp. are among the foreign companies that**

**helped develop the two fields, first discovered more than 40 years**

**ago.**

**Most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting**

**Countries and other oil nations are pumping near their limits to**

**meet demand. Saudi Aramco has said the new fields will provide**

**\`\`substantial increases\'\' in the world\'s supply of oil.**

**Oil Falls**

**Crude oil for September delivery was down \$1.35, or 3.1**

**percent, at \$42.80 a barrel at 2:41 p.m. on the New York**

**Mercantile Exchange, with later loses caused by an unexpected rise**

**in U.S. gasoline inventories and the statement from Yukos that it**

**its operations can continue.**

**Yesterday crude oil closed above \$44 for the first time since**

**the contract was introduced in 1983. September gasoline futures**

**fell 8.16 cents, or 6.3 percent, to \$1.205 a gallon on the Nymex.**

**OPEC pumped the most oil in 25 years in July, a Bloomberg**

**survey showed. Saudi Arabia, the largest producer in OPEC,**

**produced 9.36 million barrels of oil per day in July, according to**

**the survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.**

**Capacity Crunch**

**OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said yesterday that Saudi**

**Arabia and other members may not have sufficient spare capacity to**

**meet rising demand, saying \`\`if prices continue to rise, what can**

**OPEC do?\'\'**

**Today, Yusgiantoro issued a statement saying OPEC holds spare**

**production capacity of \`\`around 1 million to 1.5 million barrels a**

**day, which would allow for an immediate additional increase in**

**production.\'\'**

**The development of Saudi Arabia\'s Qatif field, discovered in**

**1945, and Abu Safah, discovered in 1963, will also provide 370**

**million cubic feet per day of natural gas.**

**The new facilities at Qatif, which holds 8.4 billion barrels**

**of oil, will be the first in the kingdom to produce Arab Light**

**crude oil by blending Extra Light and Arab Medium. The Abu Safah**

**field contains 6.1 billion barrels of oil.**

**Arab Light**

**Bringing on more fields will benefit the kingdom financially**

**even if the overall production levels don\'t change, because**

**lighter oil fetches a higher price than heavy oil, said Jamal**

**Qureshi, an oil-market analyst for PFC Energy, a Washington-based**

**energy consulting firm.**

**The Aramco spokesmen declined to say at what rate the two new**

**fields were pumping at, or give projections for coming weeks.**

**Timely details about production levels from Saudi Arabia and**

**other OPEC members are difficult to obtain, leaving traders to**

**rely on monthly assessments from independent analysts, trade**

**journals and news services.**

**Saudi Arabia has offered more detail about its production**

**plans this year in the wake of a critical report from Matt Simmons**

**of Houston-based energy investment bank Simmons & Co., who said**

**the kingdom\'s fields may be declining more quickly than expected.**

**\`\`It\'s uncharacteristic for the Saudis to be this open, but**

**they have no interest in prices being this high,\'\' said William**

**Ferer, who manages \$1.5 billion at W.H. Reaves & Co. in Jersey**

**City, New Jersey, a third of which is invested in energy stocks.**

**\`\`It\'s not in the producer\'s interest for prices to be so
high.\'\'**

**Iraqi firefighters contain northern oil pipeline fire after blast**

Iraqi firefighters and oil pipeline repair workers have contained a
sabotage-related fire on a northern oil pipeline, the Combined Press
Information Center in Baghdad said Wednesday. \"Two Iraqi firefighting
brigades and oil pipeline repair crews contained a fire on an oil
pipeline caused by an improvised explosive device near Baigi around 0700
(0400 GMT) Aug 3,\" the press release said. A CPIC spokesman could not
confirm whether the fire had been extinguished. The attack occurred
around the town of Satha on an oil pipeline running to the 310,000 b/d
Baiji refinery. The pipeline is part of a network that takes crude from
the Kirkuk oilfields to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Iraqi
insurgents have regularly attacked the northern portions of the
country\'s 7,000-km (4,375-mile) pipeline network and have successfully
prevented Iraq from moving crude north for storage then for export from
Ceyhan. \"The fire spread to a construction site nearby before
firefighters could bring it under control,\" the press release added
<http://www.platts.com/Oil/News/1948350.xml?S=n>

# Natural Gas

#### Treaty Allows Bolivia to Export Gas Via Peru

Peru and Bolivia signed a treaty Tuesday to create a special economic
zone that is expected to allow for exports of landlocked Bolivia's
natural gas through a Peruvian port and on to the US and Mexico. Bolivia
has an estimated 28.3 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves.

Oil Daily, August 4, 2004

**Other**

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (8        | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /04/04)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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

42.73

5.70

13:40 04Aug2004 RTRS-U.S. East spot power falls with cool weather

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Spot power prices for Thursday in eastern
North America dropped on forecasts for temperatures to fall to
below-normal levels in the U.S. Northeast and Midwest, cutting cooling
demand, market sources said Wednesday.

WEATHER

Meteorologists forecast highs in Chicago would slide from 74 degrees
(Fahrenheit) on Wednesday to a well below-normal 72 on Thursday,
shutting almost all of the regions air conditioners.

Severe thunderstorms were forecast to break out in the Ohio Valley on
Wednesday, with winds expected to exceed 50 miles per hour (mph).

The mercury is not expected to break 80 degrees in Chicago through the
third week of August, keeping cooling demand well below normal for much
of what is normally the second hottest month of the year.

\"This has been the quietest summer I\'ve ever experienced,\" said a
Northeast marketer with five years of trading experience. \"The
utilities have been mostly content with paying the clearing price.
They\'re really not interested in doing any bilateral deals.\"

In New York, forecasters predicted highs would fall from 88 degrees on
Wednesday to a below-normal 78 on Thursday before sliding to 76 on
Friday.

In the Southeast, like the rest of the East, temperatures in Atlanta
will slide from a high of 93 degrees on Wednesday to a near-normal 89 on
Thursday, allowing the region\'s air conditioners to work less hard to
keep homes and businesses cool.

GENERATION

In New York, Entergy will take the FitzPatrick nuke off line for work,
while Constellation was able to fix a problem at its Nine Mile 2 reactor
that would have otherwise shut the plant.

Nine Mile 2 was ramping up and operating at 55 percent of capacity early
Wednesday, down from full power on Tuesday.

Traders guessed FitzPatrick would likely return to service within about
a week, probably over the weekend.

In the Northeast, power supplies mostly decreased overnight Wednesday,
with 300 MW shut in the PJM control area, 100 MW shut in New York and
500 MW shut in

CURRENT OUTAGES:

NORTHEAST

UNIT OPERATOR MW FUEL SITE SHUT RESTART

Pickering 8 OPG 516 Nuke ON Jul 28 Aug 4

Nanticoke 6 OPG 490 Coal ON Jul 30 Aug 6

Pickering 4 OPG 515 Nuke ON Jul 20 Aug 7

\*Atikokan 1 OPG 215 Coal ON Aug 4 unknown

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| Alcoa Calls Idling of Wenatchee Works \'Temporary\'                |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Clearing Up, August 3, 2004 -* [- FREE                            |   |
| TRIAL](http://w                                                    |   |
| ww.energycentral.com/centers/news/source_special_offer.cfm?oid=31) |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Alcoa will send 60-day layoff notices to the 325 remaining       |   |
| > hourly employees at its Wenatchee Works aluminum smelter after   |   |
| > the Wenatchee Aluminum Trades Council rejected a contract        |   |
| > proposal without submitting it to a vote of its membership.      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For now, the plant\'s closure is temporary, Alcoa said. The      |   |
| > notice to be sent to employees will talk of an \"indefinite      |   |
| > layoff,\" plant manager Bob Wilt told Clearing Up. Another 77    |   |
| > salaried employees will retire, be transferred or might also be  |   |
| > laid off. Wilt declined to speculate on the prospects of a       |   |
| > permanent closure but said, \"I do know for a fact that we are   |   |
| > not interested in selling the plant at this point.\"             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Alcoa permanently closed a smelter in Troutdale, Ore., in July   |   |
| > 2002.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For now, \"we\'re not talking about bulldozing it, not           |   |
| > immediately,\" added Jack Speer, Alcoa energy manager.           |   |
| > \"There\'re plenty of options.\"                                 |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Before the recent removal of one of its five potlines, Wenatchee |   |
| > Works had a load of 428 MW, at full capacity. Alcoa has power    |   |
| > deals with Chelan PUD and the Bonneville Power Administration,   |   |
| > but the smelter has not produced aluminum since July 2001. Under |   |
| > a two-year \"buy back\" deal with Bonneville, the agency paid    |   |
| > Alcoa \$20/MWh, or about \$70 million per year, to reduce its    |   |
| > load. Some of that money was used to keep employee payrolls      |   |
| > whole, but the buyback ended Sept. 30. Since then, 400           |   |
| > employees\--some doing plant maintenance and others community    |   |
| > service\--have been paid from Rocky Reach proceeds passed        |   |
| > through the PUD and supplemented by corporate funds, according   |   |
| > to Speer. \"Our expenses were higher than the revenue from the   |   |
| > PUD, so Alcoa continued to lose money in that mode,\" Speer      |   |
| > explained.                                                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Alcoa pays 23 percent of the cost to operate Chelan PUD\'s 1287  |   |
| > MW Rocky Reach dam, and is entitled to 23 percent of the output, |   |
| > but it must use that output at Wenatchee Works. When the plant   |   |
| > went offline in 2001, Alcoa signed another deal under which the  |   |
| > PUD remarketed Alcoa\'s Rocky Reach power and credited Alcoa the |   |
| > difference between the dam\'s cost of power and the market       |   |
| > price. But the proceeds had to be used pay Alcoa\'s share of     |   |
| > Rocky Reach and to keep employee payrolls whole.                 |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Randy Lowe, Chelan PUD director of power management, said that   |   |
| > last Thursday, Alcoa notified the PUD it wants to terminate that |   |
| > agreement. Proceeds from Alcoa\'s share of Rocky Reach will      |   |
| > continue to be used to pay its share of the costs, but Alcoa and |   |
| > the PUD will use the next 30 to 60 days to decide how additional |   |
| > proceeds will be allocated. \"We have engineering, legal and     |   |
| > administrative issues that we need to work out,\" said Randy     |   |
| > Lowe, director of power management at Chelan PUD. But it\'s      |   |
| > clear those funds will no longer fund payrolls.                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > BPA, which has a five-year, 438 aMW contract with Alcoa,         |   |
| > speculated that since it appears from press reports that         |   |
| > Alcoa\'s Rocky Reach proceeds could total as much \$100 million  |   |
| > over three years, Alcoa would likely restart Wenatchee before by |   |
| > 2011. \"We don\'t see Alcoa leaving that much money on the table |   |
| > to evaporate,\" said spokesman Ed Mosey. But he said BPA has not |   |
| > seen Alcoa\'s contract with Chelan.                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Market sources estimated Alcoa\'s share of Rocky Reach costs to  |   |
| > be roughly \$3 million a month, which could mean Alcoa\'s        |   |
| > proceeds would be considerably more than the BPA estimate.       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Alcoa\'s BPA contract with Alcoa runs through 2006, and rates    |   |
| > remain very high, Speer said. The power can be used at either    |   |
| > Wenatchee or Intalco, where Alcoa operates only one potline. BPA |   |
| > says Alcoa is presently exercising a contract option, as are     |   |
| > several other DSIs, to opt out of taking the share of its BPA    |   |
| > allocation not needed to run the Intalco potline and to do so at |   |
| > strike price that holds BPA harmless. That is, for a designated  |   |
| > period of time, BPA is allowed to resell the power\--and retain  |   |
| > the benefits\--as long as the market is above BPA\'s industrial  |   |
| > rate, which it currently is; or to charge Alcoa a penalty if the |   |
| > market is below the BPA rate.                                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > There\'s still no final decision on what service DSIs such as    |   |
| > Alcoa will get from BPA after their contracts expire in 2006,    |   |
| > Speer said. BPA has a proposal on the street for 2006-2011 that  |   |
| > would offer all the DSIs a total of 500 aMW, with no guarantee   |   |
| > about post 2011 service. That\'s barely enough to keep Intalco   |   |
| > running at full capacity. Speer said Alcoa is working on a       |   |
| > counter offer that would allow the company to simply roll over   |   |
| > its existing contract, \"so we can limp along\" until post-2011  |   |
| > allocations are decided.                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Alcoa\'s contract offer to the union involved taking the Rocky   |   |
| > Reach power to run two of the plant\'s four potlines (a fifth    |   |
| > line was \"removed\" several months ago). But it also involved   |   |
| > employees paying an extra \$72 per month towards their           |   |
| > healthcare, something Alcoa\'s other 20,000 employees already    |   |
| > do, the company said. The \$72 would amount to only about one    |   |
| > percent of the Wenatchee employees\' base pay and benefits, said |   |
| > Alan Cransberg, Alcoa U.S. primary metals president.             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The final offer included a healthcare premium significantly      |   |
| > discounted from that paid by Alcoa\'s other employees, Wilt told |   |
| > Clearing Up. He said the new plan also had a 90/10 cost sharing  |   |
| > feature and options for different family circumstances, instead  |   |
| > of the existing plan\'s one-size-fits-all. He said the plan was  |   |
| > \"far richer\" and had more features than that of the average    |   |
| > U.S. worker.                                                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The annual difference in Alcoa\'s costs aside from the \$72      |   |
| > contribution from each employee is less than \$350,000 per year, |   |
| > compared to Alcoa\'s record second quarter earnings of \$404     |   |
| > million, up 86 percent from the same period last year. Wilt said |   |
| > the actual cost to Alcoa is more like \$4,000 per employee per   |   |
| > year, which, he acknowledged, only amounting to some \$1.3       |   |
| > million per year.                                                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Alcoa is made up of many operating plants and every plant has  |   |
| > to stand on its own merit and return the rate cost of capital,\" |   |
| > he said. He declined to say what rate cost of capital Alcoa      |   |
| > expects from Wenatchee Works. It is not so much this year\'s     |   |
| > profitability that is at issue, he said. Rather, healthcare      |   |
| > costs are escalating at 12 percent to 14 percent a year and      |   |
| > there is no reason to think that will change.                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Wilt also noted that while Intalco, the 457-MW Ferndale, Wash.   |   |
| > smelter where Alcoa owns a majority share, is a more             |   |
| > technologically efficient smelter, it also compares favorably to |   |
| > Wenatchee in terms of workforce productivity. Intalco, where     |   |
| > only one potline is currently running, has the most efficient    |   |
| > work force among Alcoa\'s U.S. aluminum smelting mills, he said, |   |
| > possibly the most efficient of all U.S. smelters. He said he did |   |
| > not know what it is that makes the Intalco workforce so much     |   |
| > more productive \[Ben Tansey\].                                  |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

<http://pro.energycentral.com/professional/news/power/news_article.cfm?id=5027876>

In both versions

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| Connecticut utilities urge residential customers to restrict on-   |   |
| peak power use                                                     |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Aug 3, 2004 - The Hartford Courant, Conn.*                        |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > For years, Connecticut businesses have shifted some of their     |   |
| > manufacturing and commercial functions to the nighttime hours    |   |
| > when power demand \-- and electricity rates \-- were lower.      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > But now state regulators want more residential customers to      |   |
| > shift some of their power usage to the evening hours, too.       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Spurred by rate pressures, growing electricity demand, and the   |   |
| > need to alleviate some of the load on the power grid during peak |   |
| > daytime hours, they are encouraging the state\'s utilities to    |   |
| > market the so-called \"time of day\" or \"time of use\" rate to  |   |
| > their home customers.                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > This rate, which Connecticut Light & Power started promoting     |   |
| > last month, gives customers a discount for using more of their   |   |
| > electricity during off peak hours, typically after 8 p.m. and    |   |
| > before 8 a.m.                                                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > While the rate has been available to residential customers for   |   |
| > some years, utility regulators last year reworked it to make it  |   |
| > more attractive. The state Department of Public Utility Control  |   |
| > is hoping that giving off peak users a discount of 3 percent to  |   |
| > 15 percent will spur more residential customers to switch.       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"We believe it is an excellent way for customers not only to    |   |
| > conserve electricity themselves, but to make a difference in the |   |
| > peak hour usage statewide,\" said Beryl Lyons, spokeswoman for   |   |
| > the state Department of Public Utility Control.                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Only 48 out of Connecticut Light & Power\'s 1 million home       |   |
| > customers currently use this rate, spokesman Chris Riley said.   |   |
| > In United Illuminating territory the number is 4,500, though     |   |
| > still less than 2 percent of the utility\'s 280,000 residential  |   |
| > customers.                                                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For the past few years the companies have jointly sponsored a    |   |
| > \"Wait \'til 8\" campaign that uses radio and print ads to get   |   |
| > customers to use electricity later in the evening.               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The \$375,000 annual campaign, however, did not specifically     |   |
| > promote the time of day rate. So CL&P this year added a line     |   |
| > about the rate in the promotional materials, and spent an        |   |
| > additional \$5,000 to have a brochure printed for customers      |   |
| > asking for more information.                                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The company also started mentioning the rate in its bill inserts |   |
| > and on the bills to market the rate without spending a lot of    |   |
| > additional money, Riley said.                                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The idea is to ease the heavy demand on the power grid during    |   |
| > the daytime when air conditioning, lighting and computer usage   |   |
| > pushes power demand to its peak.                                 |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Taking power demand off the grid during peak daytime hours would |   |
| > ease the load on the state\'s transmission and distribution      |   |
| > lines, regulators and industry officials said. Some of these     |   |
| > lines are in danger of overloading on hot summer days when heavy |   |
| > power usage pushes up power demand.                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > At those times, power must be imported from outside the region,  |   |
| > especially in Fairfield County, because there are not enough     |   |
| > local power plants to satisfy the increased demand.              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"It\'s like traffic congestion,\" said Daniel Sosland,          |   |
| > executive director of the not-for-profit energy group            |   |
| > Environment Northeast. \"If everyone drove a little later and    |   |
| > earlier in the day, the traffic lanes wouldn\'t have to be       |   |
| > extended. \... It loosens the whole stress on the system and you |   |
| > are using the capacity that exists.\"                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > United Illuminating officials found that customers who           |   |
| > conscientiously controlled their usage can save as much as 15    |   |
| > percent off the regular residential rate. For a typical \$60     |   |
| > residential bill that amounts to \$9 less each month.            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > CL&P expects its customers to save less, about 3 to 5 percent,   |   |
| > Riley said.                                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Patrick McDonnell, manager of technical and program support at   |   |
| > United Illuminating, admitted, \"It\'s nothing that you\'re      |   |
| > going to fill your pension fund with.\"                          |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > At the same time, he and other power officials said, if a        |   |
| > customer uses more electricity later in the day anyway, might as |   |
| > well save a few bucks.                                           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The drawback is that those who don\'t watch their energy usage   |   |
| > closely can end up paying more, they said.                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"The thing is, it\'s very much under the consumer\'s control    |   |
| > how much they shift. \... You pay more if you use (electricity)  |   |
| > on peak; your discount comes off peak,\" McDonnell said.         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Robert Earley, chairman of the state\'s Energy Conservation      |   |
| > Management Board and an attorney who follows electricity issues  |   |
| > for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, said      |   |
| > encouraging more off peak usage is a worthy goal.                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > But the state should have clearly defined goals in mind if it    |   |
| > wants more customers to move their electricity usage to later    |   |
| > hours, he said. Otherwise, the costs of moving more of the       |   |
| > residential power load to later hours could exceed the benefits. |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"I just think we need to be careful in how aggressively we      |   |
| > encourage residential time of use rates, because we don\'t want  |   |
| > to be a laboratory and the result is that we don\'t achieve the  |   |
| > benefits we set out to get,\" he said.                           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For example, customers must have a new meter installed to        |   |
| > participate in a time-of-use rate, which the utilities will      |   |
| > install for free. And ratepayers must commit to the rate for one |   |
| > year.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Utility officials said young professionals without children and  |   |
| > empty nesters who are still in the workforce make good           |   |
| > candidates because they are not home much during the day, and    |   |
| > can put off more power-gobbling tasks until evening.             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Tasks that can be delayed include laundry, running a pool filter |   |
| > pump, running basement dehumidifiers and having the hot water    |   |
| > heaters run at night to heat the water for the next day.         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The rate generally doesn\'t work for families with young         |   |
| > children, McDonnell said. CL&P cautioned that residential        |   |
| > customers who use electric heat will also not be good candidates |   |
| > for the rate.                                                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > However, McDonnell said UI\'s electric heating customers         |   |
| > generally do well on this rate because that utility has a        |   |
| > seasonal aspect to its rate design that makes the cost           |   |
| > difference worth it for some homeowners.                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Riley said customers should get the informational brochure and   |   |
| > do the calculations on usage before making a decision.           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"We want to be absolutely certain it will work for the          |   |
| > customers before we install the meter, otherwise they could end  |   |
| > up paying more and that\'s the last thing we want,\" he said.    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Residential customers interested in the time of day rate may     |   |
| > call CL&P customer service at 860-947-2000, or 1-800-286-2000,   |   |
| > and request an informational brochure. Customers may also see    |   |
| > the time of day rate brochure online at www.cl-p.com. In the     |   |
| > \"What\'s New\" box on the right, click on the first line, which |   |
| > says \"Wait \'til 8.\"                                           |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

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In both versions

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| Scotia, N.Y., power-plant developer blames Patriot Act for absence |   |
| of financing                                                       |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Times Union, Albany, N.Y. \--Aug. 3\--*                           |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Aug. 3\--The company behind an embattled power plant proposal    |   |
| > says its funding has been delayed by a federal anti-terrorism    |   |
| > law.                                                             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > At a hearing last month, an attorney for Glenville Energy Park   |   |
| > LLC said that within 30 days, the company would have the cash to |   |
| > move forward with the stalled 520-megawatt project, or would     |   |
| > withdraw its application for approval.                           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > That deadline passed Thursday. On Friday, the attorney wrote to  |   |
| > the state administrative law judges overseeing the application   |   |
| > process, saying the money has been held up by the USA Patriot    |   |
| > Act.                                                             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Funds have been transferred from a country in the European Union |   |
| > to two domestic banks, said the letter from Jeffrey C. Cohen of  |   |
| > the Albany law firm Cohen, Dax & Koenig, P.C.                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"However, to its frustration, GEP has learned over the past     |   |
| > three months that \... extended bank reviews of origination have |   |
| > become common with respect to such transfers,\" he wrote.        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The money will be available once the investigation is completed, |   |
| > and the company is not withdrawing its application, Cohen wrote. |   |
| > The amount of money, investors, country of origin and banks were |   |
| > not identified.                                                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For plant opponents, the development is just more of the same,   |   |
| > said Carl Dworkin, attorney for Citizens Advocating Responsible  |   |
| > Development, a local grass-roots group.                          |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"They just keep on making promises that they do not fulfill,\"  |   |
| > he said. \"It seems to me at some point somebody has to ask the  |   |
| > question: Do these people have any credibility whatsoever?\"     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The company, which has repeatedly claimed funding is imminent,   |   |
| > should show evidence the money is real, Dworkin said.            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > A spokesman for GEP said he wasn\'t sure what kind of evidence   |   |
| > the company could provide. \"I think if the judges ask for that, |   |
| > that\'s something GEP will look at doing,\" Jonathan Pierce      |   |
| > said. \"We always try to accommodate the judges.\"               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > First proposed in 1999, the plant would be powered by natural    |   |
| > gas and would produce enough electricity to supply more than     |   |
| > 500,000 homes. It would be located on 22 acres in the            |   |
| > Scotia-Glenville Industrial Park off Route 5 in Glenville, a     |   |
| > half-mile from the Mohawk River.                                 |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > GEP filed its application under Article 10, a state law meant to |   |
| > fast-track power plant sitings that has since expired. But the   |   |
| > Glenville project is stalled in its early stages.                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Local residents and municipalities have challenged the proposal. |   |
| > The city of Schenectady has refused to provide a water source    |   |
| > and the village of Scotia has denied the plant a sewage link.    |   |
| > Past backers have pulled out, and GEP owes more than \$100,000   |   |
| > to the town of Glenville for studies related to the plant.       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The company has said it has potential solutions to the water     |   |
| > problems and should be allowed to move forward with studies and  |   |
| > planning.                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > In May, a local landowner filed a motion asking that GEP\'s      |   |
| > application be tossed out. That motion is still pending, said    |   |
| > Michael Harrison, one of the presiding judges in the case,       |   |
| > explaining his refusal to comment on the issue.                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > A money-laundering expert said Monday that increased scrutiny is |   |
| > slowing up some international transactions as a result of the    |   |
| > Patriot Act.                                                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Banks are giving a lot more due diligence to wire transfers    |   |
| > and certain accounts,\" said Charles A. Intriago, publisher of   |   |
| > Money Laundering Alert, a Miami-based newsletter.                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > But he called the three-month review cited by GEP for holding up |   |
| > its money as \"a little long.\"                                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \-\-\-\--                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > To see more of the Times Union, or to subscribe to the           |   |
| > newspaper, go to http://www.timesunion.com.                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \(c\) 2004, Times Union, Albany, N.Y. Distributed by Knight      |   |
| > Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing    |   |
| > this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213)         |   |
| > 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail              |   |
| > reprints@krtinfo.com.                                            |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

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In both versions

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| California Energy Commission votes to upgrade Morro Bay power      |   |
| plant                                                              |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. \--Aug. 3\--*                |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Aug. 3\--After three and a half years of controversy and delay,  |   |
| > the state Energy Commission approved plans Monday to modernize   |   |
| > the Morro Bay power plant.                                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The crucial license from the commission is one of two that Duke  |   |
| > Energy needs for the \$800 million project. State water resource |   |
| > officials must also approve the project. They are tentatively    |   |
| > scheduled to hear the case in December.                          |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The commission is supposed to decide such cases within a year,   |   |
| > but numerous regulatory challenges by local activists and        |   |
| > arguments with the state Coastal Commission over jurisdiction    |   |
| > stalled the project.                                             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Our bottom line is that we want you to make a decision         |   |
| > today,\" Duke attorney Chris Ellison told the commission at its  |   |
| > meeting in Sacramento. \"This has gone on far too long.\"        |   |
| > Opponents of the project said they are disappointed but not      |   |
| > surprised by Monday\'s decision. A committee of two of the five  |   |
| > Energy Commission members has been recommending approval of the  |   |
| > project for months.                                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"It\'s an outrageous decision because it contradicts everything |   |
| > on the record,\" said Jack McCurdy, spokesman for the Coastal    |   |
| > Alliance on Plant Expansion. \"We are cautiously optimistic of   |   |
| > our chances with the state water board.\" In a concession to     |   |
| > Duke, the commission will not formally record, or docket, its    |   |
| > decision until the state Regional Water Quality Control Board    |   |
| > issues its permit. This is significant because the five-year     |   |
| > life of the Energy Commission permit does not start until it is  |   |
| > docketed.                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > CAPE plans to petition the Energy Commission to reconsider its   |   |
| > decision as soon as it is docketed, McCurdy said. If that fails, |   |
| > lawsuits are the only way the approvals could be overturned.     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The project calls for the 50-year-old boiler plant to be         |   |
| > replaced by a modern gas turbine facility. The new plant would   |   |
| > be farther back from the city\'s Embarcadero, and the three      |   |
| > towering smoke stacks would be replaced with four much shorter   |   |
| > ones.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The main controversy is the continued use of ocean water to cool |   |
| > the new plant. Local activists and other state and federal       |   |
| > agencies opposed ocean cooling because it kills fish and crab    |   |
| > larvae in the bay.                                               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > One of the agencies opposed to the project is the Coastal        |   |
| > Commission. Normally, the powerful coastal panel has the final   |   |
| > word on projects along the coast, but state law allows the       |   |
| > Energy Commission to trump the Coastal Commission in such cases. |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > With its 5-0 vote, the commission decided that sediment removal  |   |
| > and other habitat work in the bay proposed by Duke is better for |   |
| > the environment than requiring the utility to use a closed loop  |   |
| > cooling method called dry cooling.                               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"The cost of dry cooling at this particular site is             |   |
| > prohibitively high and cannot be justified,\" said Commission    |   |
| > Chairman William Keese. \"With or without the plant, the estuary |   |
| > is on rapid decline due to sedimentation.\" Six members of the   |   |
| > public spoke to the commission Monday. They all opposed the      |   |
| > project.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"This project will not be good for the people of Morro Bay who  |   |
| > breathe the air and for the fish that swim in the estuary,\"     |   |
| > said Shoosh Crotzer of Morro Bay.                                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > At the start of the hearing, commissioners rejected a request by |   |
| > CAPE to delay the vote and reopen the case. The group argued     |   |
| > that, because the current plant is operating at reduced power,   |   |
| > the relative environmental impacts of the new plant will be much |   |
| > greater.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Duke officials said the commission\'s vote is a victory for the  |   |
| > environment because the new plant will produce more electricity  |   |
| > with fewer air pollution emissions. The project is expected to   |   |
| > pump \$2 million annually into the Morro Bay economy.            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"We think they made the right decision,\" said Pat Mullen, Duke |   |
| > spokesman.                                                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > If the utility gets a permit from the water board, the next step |   |
| > will be to sign contracts to sell the electricity that the new   |   |
| > plant will produce. Without those contracts, it will be          |   |
| > impossible to get financing to build the new plant, Mullen said. |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \-\-\-\--                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > To see more of The Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go |   |
| > to http://www.sanluisobispo.com.                                 |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \(c\) 2004, The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, Calif. Distributed by  |   |
| > Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on          |   |
| > republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.),  |   |
| > (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail        |   |
| > reprints@krtinfo.com. DUK,                                       |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

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+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| Declining Confidence in the Electricity Supply; One Year After     |   |
| Blackout Majorities Support Investment in Nuclear                  |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *OTTAWA, Aug 03, 2004 CNW Telbec*                                  |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > After a massive power outage darkened much of Ontario and the    |   |
| > eastern United States nearly a year ago, new opinion research    |   |
| > finds that public confidence in our energy supplies has declined |   |
| > significantly.                                                   |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > According to an Ipsos-Reid survey released today, only 43 per    |   |
| > cent of Ontarians now believe that the electricity supply is     |   |
| > sufficient to meet present and future needs. Nationally,         |   |
| > confidence in the security of our energy supplies has declined   |   |
| > to 59 per cent from 71 per cent two years ago.                   |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > In response to concerns about looming electricity shortfalls, 67 |   |
| > per cent of Ontarians and 57 per cent of Canadians nationwide    |   |
| > say they support upgrading and modernizing nuclear facilities.   |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > And in Ontario, 50 per cent of the public favours building new   |   |
| > nuclear facilities.                                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Nuclear contributes about 45 per cent of Ontario\'s            |   |
| > electricity supply and about 16 per cent of Canada\'s            |   |
| > electricity supply. Nuclear is a major workhorse of the system.  |   |
| > It provides much of the power we need to maintain our economy    |   |
| > and standard of living \-- at one of the lowest costs, and       |   |
| > without emitting greenhouse gasses,\" said Murray Elston,        |   |
| > President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association.           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Clearly, people in Ontario and across the country recognize    |   |
| > the important role of nuclear power, and they support investing  |   |
| > in nuclear to ensure the security and stability of our energy    |   |
| > supplies.\"                                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The Ipsos-Reid survey, carried out for the Canadian Nuclear      |   |
| > Association, was conducted between May 13 and May 21 and again   |   |
| > between June 1 and 3, 2004. In May, a representative randomly    |   |
| > selected sample of 2,207 adult Canadians (obtaining a (+/-) 2.1  |   |
| > per cent margin of error) and 800 Ontarians (obtaining a (+/-)   |   |
| > 3.5 per cent margin of error) was interviewed by telephone. In   |   |
| > June, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult   |   |
| > Canadians (obtaining a (+/-) 3.1 per cent margin of error) and   |   |
| > 379 Ontarians (obtaining a (+/-) 5 per cent margin of error) was |   |
| > interviewed by telephone.                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > These margins of error will be larger within regions and for     |   |
| > other sub- groupings of the survey population. These data were   |   |
| > weighted to ensure the sample\'s regional and age/sex            |   |
| > composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population      |   |
| > according to the 2001 Census data.                               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For more information on this research, including a full report   |   |
| > of results, and tabular data, please go online to                |   |
| > http://www.ipsos.ca .                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > VIEW ADDITIONAL COMPANY-SPECIFIC INFORMATION:                    |   |
| > http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/orgDisplay.cgi?okey=56638     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > For further information: Darrell Bricker, President, Ipsos-Reid  |   |
| > Public Affairs, (416) 324-2900, Darrell.bricker(at)ipsos-na.com, |   |
| > www.ipsos-pa.com; Claudia Lemieux, Canadian Nuclear Association, |   |
| > Director of Communications and Media Relations, (613) 237-9082,  |   |
| > lemieuxc(at)cna.ca, www.cna.ca; Mike Pettapiece, PR POST, (416)  |   |
| > 777-0368                                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > News release via Canada NewsWire, Ottawa 613-563-4465            |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

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+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| Going With the Wind As a Bigger Source of California Power State   |   |
| Electric Board Backs \$94.2 Million Line in Tehachapi              |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Aug 03 - Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif. -*                       |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > California\'s electricity-management board has endorsed          |   |
| > construction of a \$94.2 million power line regarded as the      |   |
| > first step in expanding Antelope Valley\'s wind-energy farms as  |   |
| > much as sevenfold.                                               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > With a post-energy crisis state law ordering utilities to get 20 |   |
| > percent of their electricity from \"renewable\" sources by 2017, |   |
| > state officials say the Tehachapi area has the potential to grow |   |
| > from 600 megawatts of wind power to as much as 4,500, with       |   |
| > another 400 megawatts in Los Angeles County.                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"It\'s an important resource for California,\" said Stephanie   |   |
| > McCorkle, director of communications for the California          |   |
| > Independent System Operator, which manages the flow of           |   |
| > electricity along California\'s power grid.                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > State energy regulators this spring called for an orderly,       |   |
| > logical, and phased expansion of the transmission system serving |   |
| > the Tehachapi wind farms, which are hindered from expanding by   |   |
| > the lack of a way to get more power out to the state power grid. |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"Tapping into that potential will require more lines than just  |   |
| > that first leg,\" said Nancy Rader, executive director of the    |   |
| > California Wind Energy Association.                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Running 26 miles from Valencia to a substation west of           |   |
| > Lancaster, the 500,000-volt line would draw power first from an  |   |
| > entirely new wind farm proposed in the foothills south of the    |   |
| > Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, according to state     |   |
| > documents.                                                       |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > A later extension would run high-power lines to the Tehachapi    |   |
| > Mountains to serve the area of existing wind farms, officials    |   |
| > said.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The Valencia-West Lancaster line still requires approval from    |   |
| > the California Public Utilities Commission.                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > While the Independent System Operator board in its decision      |   |
| > Thursday told Southern California Edison to proceed with the     |   |
| > design and environmental studies, Edison and Pacific Gas and     |   |
| > Electric have objected to financing power lines serving wind     |   |
| > projects.                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The utilities want the wind energy companies to pay for lines,   |   |
| > saying it would be a waste of customers\' money for utilities to |   |
| > pay for a line to a proposed wind farm that ends up losing out   |   |
| > on production contracts.                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The proposed west Antelope Valley wind farm, which has not been  |   |
| > approved by Los Angeles County officials, is envisioned as       |   |
| > providing 200 megawatts - enough to power 100,000 to 200,000     |   |
| > homes at full wind speed - through about 110 to 130 giant        |   |
| > turbines spun by the Antelope Valley\'s plentiful winds.         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"It\'s really early in the process,\" said Jan Johnson, a       |   |
| > spokeswoman for wind-farm operator PPM Energy Inc., which is a   |   |
| > part of the giant Scottish energy firm ScottishPower. \"We\'re   |   |
| > really pleased with the endorsements and approvals to date.\"    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > PPM Energy wants to have its west Antelope Valley wind farm,     |   |
| > called the Fairmont project, operating by December 2006, in part |   |
| > to capture expected federal tax credits, state documents show.   |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > PPM has proposed another 200 megawatt wind farm between          |   |
| > Tehachapi and Mojave that it wants to have operating by December |   |
| > 2007. A second company has proposed a 300 megawatt               |   |
| > Tehachapi-area wind farm for operation by December 2006, records |   |
| > said.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > If built, those farms would essentially double the maximum wind- |   |
| > energy output of the Tehachapi area, which is already dotted     |   |
| > with thousands of turbines and, according to the American Wind   |   |
| > Energy Association, is the most productive wind-energy area in   |   |
| > California.                                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > While the California Public Utilities Commission has identified  |   |
| > a possible 4,500 megawatt maximum output for new wind farms in   |   |
| > the Tehachapi area - enough to power 2 million to 4 million      |   |
| > homes - the inherent nature of wind power means the average      |   |
| > output would be far less.                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Unlike a natural-gas power plant, a wind farm can\'t be called   |   |
| > on to boost output at a time of need. Instead, when wind power   |   |
| > is sending electricity into the power grid, reserves of other    |   |
| > types of generation must be kept available in case the wind      |   |
| > stops blowing, state officials said.                             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > During the peak of last week\'s record demand for electricity,   |   |
| > for example, the Tehachapi windmills were putting out about 35   |   |
| > percent of their maximum capacity.                               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > State officials said they are able to manage the drawbacks of    |   |
| > wind-generated electricity, which on the positive side won\'t    |   |
| > experience fuel price hikes or cause pollution - other than the  |   |
| > sight of them on mountaintops and hillsides.                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"We\'re making it work,\" McCorkle said of accommodating wind   |   |
| > power.                                                           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The route for the proposed Valencia-West Lancaster power line    |   |
| > has not been established. The line may follow an existing power  |   |
| > line route and involve modifying or replacing the existing       |   |
| > towers, said a Southern California Edison spokeswoman.           |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"This is something we\'ve been working on for a number of       |   |
| > years,\" Southern California Edison spokeswoman Alis Clausen     |   |
| > said. \"We have lots of environmental work to do. We have to     |   |
| > analyze several alternate routes. We have to scope out the       |   |
| > costs. We have a huge amount of work do do.\"                    |   |
| > ![](media/image2.png){width="4.1666666666666664e-2in"            |   |
| > height="4.1666666666666664e-2in"}                                |   |
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In both versions

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| Scientists Shift View on Yucca                                     |   |
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|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Aug 02 - Las Vegas Review - Journal -*                            |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Prominent scientists have shifted their stance on a key element  |   |
| > of the Yucca Mountain repository, saying they no longer fear     |   |
| > that corrosive brines could penetrate nuclear waste canisters    |   |
| > and cause radioactive particles to leak within relatively short  |   |
| > periods.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Members of the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board said new     |   |
| > science presented by the Department of Energy caused them to     |   |
| > rethink the problem.                                             |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > A new position by the panel could boost DOE as it maps out       |   |
| > blueprints for the proposed Yucca facility.                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Conversely, it could downgrade an issue that repository          |   |
| > opponents have seized upon.                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Staff members for the technical review board cautioned that      |   |
| > while some specific concerns have been allayed, much more still  |   |
| > needs to be known before scientists fully can be confident that  |   |
| > a Yucca repository would work as the Energy Department has       |   |
| > advertised.                                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"This does not mean the board does not have concerns about      |   |
| > corrosion of the packages; it means that this specific           |   |
| > (corrosion) issue is not a concern,\" board spokeswoman Karyn    |   |
| > Severson said.                                                   |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The board outlined its position in a letter Wednesday to         |   |
| > Margaret Chu, director of DOE\'s Office of Civilian Radioactive  |   |
| > Waste Management. She did not plan to comment, a spokesman said. |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The Energy Department considers the review board\'s shift a      |   |
| > \"huge deal\" that will encourage DOE to pursue its preferred    |   |
| > designs, said one Yucca manager who asked not to be identified.  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Explaining the change, board director William Barnard said       |   |
| > science is evolving as more is learned about the                 |   |
| > first-of-its-kind repository.                                    |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"This is part of a long-term learning process,\" Barnard said.  |   |
| > \"It\'s a learning process for DOE, and a learning process for   |   |
| > the board.\"                                                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board caused a major stir     |   |
| > among scientists and policy-makers in October when it issued a   |   |
| > report raising questions about the Energy Department\'s          |   |
| > preferred repository design.                                     |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Current DOE plans call for canisters of waste to be spaced       |   |
| > tightly within tunnels.                                          |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The review board said in October that, based on DOE\'s own       |   |
| > research, the metal containers would be vulnerable to localized  |   |
| > corrosion within 1,000 years. Such a scenario would make it      |   |
| > difficult for the repository to win a safety operating license.  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The review board, which was created by Congress to evaluate      |   |
| > Yucca science, in May convened a two-day seminar at which the    |   |
| > Energy Department and other organizations put forward updated    |   |
| > analyses.                                                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Based on those presentations, the board told Chu in its letter   |   |
| > that the corrosion scenario it envisioned last year now          |   |
| > \"appears unlikely.\"                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > New research concluded that calcium chloride, a mineral          |   |
| > compound, would not be present in dust flakes that will settle   |   |
| > on the canisters, according to officials.                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The technical review panel had believed that calcium chloride    |   |
| > would boil with seepage water or humidity vapors to form a       |   |
| > corrosive brine that would eat into canister welds at a fast     |   |
| > rate.                                                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The board said in its letter that DOE still needs to draw a      |   |
| > clear picture of environmental conditions within the repository  |   |
| > and other factors that might encourage package corrosion.        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The state of Nevada was among the groups making presentations in |   |
| > May. Steve Frishman, a full-time state consultant on Yucca       |   |
| > Mountain, said it appeared clear that DOE had solved the         |   |
| > problem.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > But, Frishman said, the Energy Department has yet to address     |   |
| > questions about the presence of other minerals that could create |   |
| > problems when the decaying nuclear waste causes temperatures to  |   |
| > rise inside the repository.                                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > \"It is still implicit in all this that (DOE) really doesn\'t    |   |
| > understand what is going on above boiling,\" Frishman said.      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The Energy Department \"will try to claim victory, but it is     |   |
| > not,\" Frishman said. \"Their usual way of responding to a       |   |
| > problem is they will take a specific problem and beat it to      |   |
| > death without looking at associated problems.\"                  |   |
| > ![](media/image2.png){width="4.1666666666666664e-2in"            |   |
| > height="4.1666666666666664e-2in"}                                |   |
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| New Mexico\'s 2 competing pipeline plans may be identical           |   |
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|                                                                     |   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Albuquerque Journal, N.M. \--Aug. 3\--ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. \--*       |   |
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|                                                                     |   |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Aug. 3\--ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. \-- One pipeline or two?               |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > At first glance, it looks as though two companies are competing   |   |
| > to increase natural gas output in the San Juan Basin with nearly  |   |
| > identical pipeline plans.                                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > One company is asking for up to \$150\"million in state help; the |   |
| > other is not.                                                     |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > The State Investment Council agreed last week to consider         |   |
| > investing up to \$150\"million in Shawnee, Kan.-based Earth,      |   |
| > Energy & Environment\'s plans to build a pipeline from the        |   |
| > Farmington area to connections with major interstate pipelines.   |   |
| > The proposed pipeline would have a capacity of about 375 million  |   |
| > cubic feet per day.                                               |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > One day after the council\'s vote, Transwestern Pipeline Co.,     |   |
| > owned by Enron subsidiary Crosscountry Energy Corp., received     |   |
| > federal approval to expand its existing line from Bloomfield to   |   |
| > Gallup by 375 million cubic feet.                                 |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > The two projects may in fact be the same one, one state official  |   |
| > said Monday.                                                      |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \"I feel safe saying we\'re talking about one pipeline here,\"    |   |
| > State Investment Council spokesman Charles Wollmann said.         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > He declined to go into detail about any possible connections      |   |
| > between the two.                                                  |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Dennis Langley, CEO of the Kansas corporation, said               |   |
| > confidentiality agreements barred him from saying whether his     |   |
| > company\'s project was related to the Transwestern\'s             |   |
| > announcement. Nor would he comment on whether his firm has or was |   |
| > planning to bid on the Transwestern pipeline, which is on the     |   |
| > auction block in the Enron bankruptcy-protection court case.      |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > But he did say, \"I do not view that as being a competing         |   |
| > project.\"                                                        |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > State Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons, who also serves on the     |   |
| > State Investment Council, told the Journal on Monday that the     |   |
| > council was aware that Transwestern was seeking federal approval. |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Lyons said some of the material provided to the council indicated |   |
| > that the Kansas company was interested in working with            |   |
| > Transwestern but did not specify how.                             |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Transwestern has not approached the State Land Office for         |   |
| > permission to expand into right of way owned by the state, Lyons  |   |
| > said. The Kansas firm, however, has worked extensively with the   |   |
| > office, he said.                                                  |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \"We\'ve been looking for a company to put an extra line in there |   |
| > for years, and no one\'s done it,\" he said. \"But (Earth, Energy |   |
| > & Environment\'s) moving forward.\"                               |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Transwestern vice president of public and government affairs John |   |
| > Ambler said he was not familiar with Earth, Energy &              |   |
| > Environment\'s plan.                                              |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > He said his firm was nearing agreements with Navajo and private   |   |
| > land owners in the area, and that their existing right of way     |   |
| > only ran through state-owned land for about half a mile.          |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Lyons, who has in the past been the lone skeptic of investments   |   |
| > presented to the council, added that he supported the council\'s  |   |
| > decision to consider the investment in Earth Energy & Environment |   |
| > because the \$11\"billion in permanent funds overseen by the      |   |
| > council largely comes from oil and gas revenues.                  |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \"That\'s how that money is made,\" he said. \"If we can get to   |   |
| > those reserves, we can make more money.\"                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > About 95 percent of the state\'s \$363 million in oil and gas tax |   |
| > revenues last year was generated in the San Juan Basin, he said.  |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Bob Gallagher, president of the New Mexico Oil and Gas            |   |
| > Association, said last week he was more familiar with             |   |
| > Transwestern\'s proposal and was unaware of any connections       |   |
| > between the two.                                                  |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Though his group didn\'t endorse either project, he called the    |   |
| > recent developments \"a significant and great day for the oil and |   |
| > gas industry\" and the state.                                     |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \"We\'ve said for years there is a need for additional            |   |
| > capacity,\" he said. \"Once that need becomes justified, private  |   |
| > companies will step up.\"                                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > But Gallagher said he didn\'t know if the basin could make use of |   |
| > two new 375 million cubic feet per day pipes.                     |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \"It would seem to me to be a stretch,\" he said.                 |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > The Earth, Energy & Environment proposals are still in the early  |   |
| > stages, Langley told the Investment Council, and are dependent on |   |
| > agreements with other gas pipeline companies. The target date to  |   |
| > complete the line is 2006.                                        |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Besides the new pipeline in the San Juan Basin, the firm is       |   |
| > negotiating with a Mexican pipeline firm to build a line that     |   |
| > would eventually connect the San Juan Basin with markets south of |   |
| > the border.                                                       |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Transwestern says its \$138.4 million expansion would begin in    |   |
| > October and should be finished by mid-2005. It was approved       |   |
| > Wednesday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and is      |   |
| > expected to be finished in about a year.                          |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > In June, the state Attorney General\'s Office, on behalf of       |   |
| > several state pension and permanent fund managers, including the  |   |
| > State Investment Council, filed a successful motion to allow the  |   |
| > state to consider a bid on the 2,600-mile Transwestern pipeline   |   |
| > if it chooses. The bidding closes in September.                   |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > State officials said last week that a new pipeline in the San     |   |
| > Juan Basin would result in millions of dollars in gas royalties   |   |
| > and tax dollars for the state.                                    |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Thousands of wells have been capped due to limited pipeline       |   |
| > capacity.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > The council voted last week to consider a \$130\"million to \$150 |   |
| > million bond investment for Earth, Energy & Environment\'s        |   |
| > proposal.                                                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > Gov. Bill Richardson urged caution before investing that amount   |   |
| > and plans to revisit the proposal soon.                           |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \-\-\-\--                                                         |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > To see more of the Albuquerque Journal, or to subscribe to the    |   |
| > newspaper, go to http://www.abqjournal.com.                       |   |
| >                                                                   |   |
| > \(c\) 2004, Albuquerque Journal. Distributed by Knight            |   |
| > Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing     |   |
| > this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 |   |
| > (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.  |   |
| > ENRNQ,                                                            |   |
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| Tidelands Oil & Gas to build pipelines across Mexico border        |   |
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|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| *Mexico City, Aug 03, 2004 EFE*                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|                                                                    |   |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > Tidelands Oil & Gas Corp. has announced plans to build two new   |   |
| > pipelines between Texas and Mexico.                              |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The San Antonio-based company said the pipelines will facilitate |   |
| > the flow of natural gas to Mexico\'s commercial, residential and |   |
| > industrial customers, who import about 30 percent of their gas   |   |
| > from the United States, financial news portal Sentido Comun      |   |
| > reported Tuesday.                                                |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > The pipelines will connect Progreso, Texas, with Nuevo Progreso, |   |
| > Mexico, and Mission, Texas, and Arguelles, Mexico, as well as    |   |
| > interconnect with Pemex infrastructure and a proposed            |   |
| > underground natural gas storage facility.                        |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Pemex is Mexico\'s state-owned oil company.                      |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Tidelands, which is currently seeking construction permits from  |   |
| > the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, has a natural gas      |   |
| > pipeline crossing the border at Eagle Pass, Texas.               |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Seven of the 11 international pipelines that cross the           |   |
| > U.S.-Mexican border are located in the state of Texas.           |   |
| > California and Arizona each have two.                            |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > Mexico imports about \$1 billion in products from Texas each     |   |
| > year and is the state\'s leading trade partner.                  |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > In late June, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed a memorandum of       |   |
| > understanding with border governors from Coahuila, Tamaulipas    |   |
| > and Nuevo Leon to develop relationships and joint energy and     |   |
| > infrastructure projects.                                         |   |
| >                                                                  |   |
| > mm/dc/mc                                                         |   |
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