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

**Office of Energy Assurance**

**ENERGY ASSURANCE DAILY**

**February 16, 2005**

**Electricity**

**46,000 Customers Lost Power in Maine Friday\
**Central Maine Power reported that there were over 46,000 customers
without electricity as of Friday morning. Strong winds and tree limbs
laden with the heavy snow knocking down lines contributed to the
outages.\
<http://www.mainelincolncountynews.com/index.cfm?ID=10592>

**Update \-- Entergy Miss. Grand Gulf Nuke Back at Full Power**

New Orleans-based energy company Entergy Corp.\'s 1,263-megawatt Grand
Gulf nuclear station in Mississippi returned to full power by early
Wednesday.\
The unit shut on Feb. 11 due to the loss of an electrical bus.

Reuters, 0717 February 16, 2005

**TVA's** **Browns Ferry 3 Nuke in Alabama Exits Outage, up to 42
Percent Power** Tennessee Valley Authority\'s 1,114-megawatt unit 3 at
the Browns Ferry nuclear station in Alabama exited an outage and ramped
up to 42 percent of capacity by early Wednesday. The unit shut on Feb.
11 after the generator unexpectedly disconnected from the grid.

Reuters, 0708 February 16, 2005

**Entergy\'s River Bend Nuclear Plant in Louisiana Trims Output\
**Entergy Corp.\'s 966-megawatt River Bend nuclear plant in Louisiana
reduced production to 85 percent of capacity last night to inspect a
malfunctioning water pump. The reactor will remain at the current
production level until the pump is fixed.\
Bloomberg News, 0920 February 16, 2005

**Houston Channel Reopens after Fog, 20 Ships Delayed**

The Houston Ship Channel was open to traffic Wednesday morning after fog
overnight shut the 53-mile (85-kilometer) waterway. About 20 ships had
been delayed by the overnight fog. The waterway had also been shut
overnight Monday due to poor visibility. Three refineries with a
combined crude processing capacity of 629,000 barrels per day are
located in Texas City along the waterway.\
Reuters, 0842 February 16, 2005

# 

# 

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# Wind Power Projects in West Virginia Receive Green Light State regulators, in one of their first major decisions since Gov. Joe Manchin took office, quietly rejected a request for a moratorium on construction of wind power sites in West Virginia. The Jan. 25 order by the state Public Service Commission gives a green light to two developers who already have PSC permits to build wind projects in Grant County this year. US Wind Force plans to build up to 166 turbines in Grant County under the name Mount Storm Wind Force, while NedPower plans to build another 200 towers nearby. Both projects would dwarf the state\'s one existing wind farm \-- the 44-tower Mountaineer Wind Energy Center in Tucker County. 

<http://www.energycentral.com/centers/news/daily/article.cfm?aid=5475573>

**CONSOL Energy to Temporarily Seal Buchanan Mine**\
CONSOL Energy Inc. will temporarily seal its Buchanan Mine near Keen
Mountain, Virginia in order to extinguish a localized fire that
developed in the mine. Based on a review of gas samples from the mine
that have been collected and analyzed by company as well as by state and
federal safety officials, the company concluded that a fire exists in a
localized area adjacent to the longwall mining system. A large rock fall
behind the longwall mining section at the Buchanan Mine occurred Monday
afternoon. It is believed that this ignition caused a fire to start. The
purpose of temporarily sealing the mine is to reduce or displace the
oxygen in order to render the mine atmosphere inert. The sealing of the
mine will be accomplished by placing temporary, removable seals on the
shafts. The company expects that the sealing process will be completed
today.\
<http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050216/clw025_1.html>

**Petroleum**

Nothing to report.

**Natural Gas**

## El Paso: Some Sonat Gas Lines Hit By Ivan Back Up Tuesday

El Paso Corp.\'s (EP) Southern Natural Gas Co. said Monday that barring
additional weather delays in the Gulf of Mexico, it should have some of
its gathering lines damaged by Hurricane Ivan in operation by Tuesday.

<http://pro.energycentral.com/professional/news/gas/news_article.cfm?id=5473529>

## Oregon Gives COB Energy Facility Final Approval

A controversial 1150-MW natural-gas combined-cycle combustion turbine
project located near the California-Oregon border received final
approval on Jan. 28 from Oregon\'s Energy Facility Siting Council, which
granted preliminary approval on Nov. 4.

<http://pro.energycentral.com/professional/news/power/news_article.cfm?id=5472522>

## ChevronTexaco Suspends Offshore LNG Project in Gulf of Mexico

## ChevronTexaco Corp., the second-largest natural-gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico, suspended a liquefied gas project off the coast of Louisiana. The Port Pelican project is on hold because ChevronTexaco

## hasn\'t decided where the gas will come from or whether the location 40 miles offshore is the optimal Gulf location. Bloomberg News, 1726, February 15, 2005

**Other News**

Nothing to report.

**Energy Prices**

+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|                               | **Latest  | **Week    | **Year     |
|                               | (02       | Ago**     | Ago**      |
|                               | /16/05)** |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **CRUDE OIL**                 | 48.35     | 45.45     | 34.51      |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **West Texas Intermediate     |           |           |            |
| US**                          |           |           |            |
|                               |           |           |            |
| \$/Barrel                     |           |           |            |
+-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| **NATURAL GAS**               | 6.10      | 6.20      | 5.62       |
|                               |           |           |            |
| **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