XENERGY Inc. and the Electric Power-Research Institute will team up in a second phase of a retail-wheeling pilot program study. The expanded study will include California, Massachusetts, Illinois and New York. Competitors, market share and sales strategies will be assessed. XENERGY first started the survey in July 1996. More than 40 utilities sponsored the research. The first phase focused mostly on New Hampshire, but also targeted electricity deregulation in the 50 states. Phase two, focusing on commercial-industrial customers, ends June 1997. XENERGY is a second-tier subsidiary of New York Electric & Gas.

Southern Energy-Asia Inc. acquired an 80-percent interest in Consolidated Electric Power Asia Ltd. (CEPA). The CEPA deal, valued at $3.2 billion, is the largest merger and acquisition in Asia, excluding Japan, according to Southern Co., Southern Energy's parent. Hopewell Holdings Ltd. has retained an interest of about 19.9 percent; 79 CEPA shareholders have retained the remaining holdings.

Some residential customers of Elizabethtown Gas Co., a division of NUI Corp., may soon be able to buy natural gas from a supplier other than their utility. The company filed a proposal with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities for a two-year pilot to allow residential customers in seven communities to buy gas from third-party suppliers under "Elizabethtown Plus." Some 5,000 customers could participate the first year and 5,000 in the second year.

A $390-million power plant able to burn clean coal less expensively, more efficiently and with fewer emissions, is expected to begin construction next year. The costs include four years of operating expenses for the plant, planned to go on line by 2000. The Illinois Clean Coal Institute project is being engineered to reduce emissions 50 percent less than U.S. EPA standards. The institute claims it would be the first "topped," commercial pressurized circulating fluidized bed combustion power plant. The U.S. DOE will share some project expenses.

AES Yucatan will own and operate a 484-MW, gas-fired, combined cycle power plant in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Power will be sold to Comisión Federal de Electricidad, expected to be under a 25-year agreement. AES Yucatan, a subsidiary of AES Corp., has a 55-percent interest in the joint venture company.

AltraÔStreamline, an electronic trading system managed by Altra Energy Technologies L.L.C., added two hubs for on-line trading: Chicago citygate went on line March 3; Texas Eastern's West Louisiana Pool was added Jan. 20.

Sixty-four schools and municipalities in the southern tier region of New York will receive 4.4 million therms of natural gas under a one-year contract signed by Plum Street Energy Marketing. Plum Street is a second-tier subsidiary of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp.

American Management Systems formed an electric and gas utilities practice. The international business and information technology firm has consulted to Entergy and Duke Power, among other utilities.

Articles found on this page are available to Internet subscribers only. For more information about obtaining a username and password, please call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-368-5001.