Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Thu, Mar 19 1992 Date: Thu, 19 Mar 92 05:57:39 EST Message-ID: 03-19 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update March 19, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network ENERGY PRICES OFF: Oil prices pulled back in sluggish trading Wednesday, erasing gains from the previous day's session. Light sweet crude for delivery in April settled at $19.07 per barrel, off 17 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the near-month contract price rose 9 cents to its highest close since mid-February. Oil for delivery in more distant months also declined. REFINED PRODUCTS FALL: Refined petroleum products lost ground Wednesday at the Mercantile Exchange. Home heating oil for delivery in April settled at 53.23 cents a gallon, down 0.90 cent. Unleaded gasoline for April delivery settled at 58.83 cents a gallon, a drop of 1.33 cents. Natural gas for delivery in April settled at $1.247 per 1,000 cubic feet, up from $1.245 on Tuesday. RUNYON DEFENDS TVA: The Tennessee Valley Authority's conversion to a power plant operator these days from a construction company at its inception was a big factor in the recent layoffs of nearly 6,000 construction employees, TVA Chairman Marvin Runyon told Congress Wednesday. Runyon's testimony came in response to questions about TVA's labor-management practices and the recent layoffs. (For more, see special TVA package below.) HYBRID SOLAR CAR DEVELOPED: Japan's Sanyo Electric said Wednesday that it has developed a solar-powered car that can also run when there's little or no sun. However, Sanyo said it has no plans to sell the vehicle, saying it does not make cars. It is trying to interest auto companies in its technology, said spokesman Hiroyuki Okamoto. The car is powered by a combination of solar cells and an environmentally safe fuel cell. FUEL CHANGED INTO ELECTRICITY: Sanyo Electric's solar-powered car, which seats two and weighs about 880 pounds, can run for about two hours at a speed of 20 to 25 miles per hour on a sunny day, the company says. The car has rechargeable batteries to store electricity produced by its two power sources. Fuel cells convert the energy of fuels directly into electricity through a chemical reaction. MAGLEV FUTURE IN DOUBT: Magnetic levitation trains may not be worth the trouble to develop for American use, a House panel was told Wednesday. It isn't clear if the trains, which are powered by superconducting magnets, will provide enough congestion relief to offset the enormous costs, said Edith Page of the Office of Technology Assessment. Among drawbacks: Major federal funding would be needed. RIG NUMBER HITS LOW IN KANSAS: The number of drilling rigs in Kansas reached their lowest point in 19 years in early February, according to the Kansas Geologic Survey out Wednesday. Kansas had 23 rigs early last month, the fewest since the OPEC oil embargo of '73. The survey said the federal government's failure to set a national energy policy and stabilize oil prices was to blame for the situation. MORE RIVERS WIN PROTECTION: President Bush has signed legislation that increases protected river mileage by 10%. The law protects more than 1,000 miles of Michigan rivers from hydroelectric dams or certain development projects. Most of the rivers lie in the state's Upper Peninsula. The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, created in 1968, now permanently protects 139 river segments totaling 9,972 miles. FOREST OIL ANNOUNCES RESULTS: Forest Oil Corp. of Denver Wednesday reported net earnings for fourth quarter 1991 of $3 million, or 24 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $10.1 million, or 92 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Oil and gas sales for the fourth quarter 1991 totaled $16.3 million, a decrease of 21% from the same period of 1990 due primarily to decreased natural gas production. SPECIAL PACKAGE ON TVA: TVA TO SUBMIT REPORTS: Besides raising the eybrows of Congress, the recent exodus of workers at the Tennessee Valley Authority also has spurred two studies from the General Accounting Office. TVA Chairman Marvin Runyon said the TVA has agreed to submit semiannual reports to Congress about its labor-management practices, as requested by Democratic Tennessee Senators Jim Sasser and Al Gore Jr. RUNYON DOESN'T LIKE BUDGET: Runyon also testified that President Bush's proposed 25% cut in the agency's 1993 budget would be "devastating," virtually eliminating TVA's rural development projects. Bush's budget includes $100.7 million next year for the TVA, vs. $135 million for fiscal year 1992. Runyon said the region would fall further behind the rest of the USA in efforts to gain economic parity as a result. NOTHING BEING BUILT: Runyon estimated that 5,000 to 6,000 workers have been affected since July 1990 by the decision to hire contract workers. "TVA started out as a construction company. Then we started building ... dams ourselves. Then we went into building coal-fired plants. Then we went into nuclear plants. And we haven't built anything substantial for quite a period of time," Runyon said. OTHER REQUESTS MADE: Gore and Sasser also have urged TVA officials to use part of the $4.2 million the agency was appropriated in the 1970s to develop rural villages as seed money for a rural telecommunications project. Runyon said TVA officials support - although he stopped short of committing money - to the Telecommunications Rural Application Center. (End of package.) Energy Editor: William Snoddy. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution violates federal law. This article is copyright 1992 Gannett News Service. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM