Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!news.media.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!usa-post Newsgroups: usa-today.energy,americast.usa-today.energy From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: usa-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: energy Wed, Oct 21 1992 Date: Wed, 21 Oct 92 04:30:09 EDT Message-ID: 10-21 0000 DECISIONLINE: Energy USA TODAY Update Oct. 21, 1992 Source: USA TODAY:Gannett National Information Network CRUDE CLOSES LOWER: Light sweet crude oil fell Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange on concerns about growing OPEC production figures, with the November crude oil contract closing 28 cents lower at $21.86 a barrel. Increased demand for gasoline gave a boost to gasoline futures, while continued concern over forecasts for colder-than-normal weather helped natural gas futures to post a modest gain. REFINED PRODUCTS CLOSE MIXED: Natural gas for November delivery closed up 0.4 cent on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday at $2.57 after reaching a life-of-contract high of $2.63 earlier in the day. Heating oil for November delivery settled down 0.61 cent at 64.21 cents a gallon. Unleaded gasoline for delivery in November closed 0.20 cent higher at 59.35 cents a gallon. PRICE OF GAS INCHES DOWN: The average price of self-serve regular unleaded gasoline is down .2 cent per gallon this week to $1.156 nationwide, the American Automobile Association reported Tuesday. AAA's Fuel Gauge Report shows that the average gasoline price has changed less than a penny in each of the last 15 weeks. The high was $1.171 on July 28 and the low was $1.15 on Oct. 6. UTILITIES FUTURES POSSIBLE: If legislation recently passed by Congress spawns a cash market where utilities can buy and sell electricity, a futures contract won't be far off. "We've had that on the drawing board for more than a year," R. Patrick Thompson of the N.Y. Mercantile Exchange told Bloomberg Business News. Futures contracts allow hedgers and speculators to lock in prices for commodities delivered later. VARITY TO MAKE DIESEL ENGINES: Varity Corp. Tuesday said that its Perkins Group plans to produce diesel engines for Chrysler Corp.'s medium-duty trucks that sell in Mexico. Perkins has obtained a five-year, $100 million contract to supply six-cylinder turbocharged diesel engines from its plant in England. Perkins will transfer production to a Mexican licensee within a year, according to Varity's Jerry Hostetter. AOI COAL ACQUIRES ASSETS: AOI Coal Tuesday announced that its Grand Valley Coal Co. has acquired substantially all of the assets of the Salt Creek Mining Co. of Colorado, according to Bloomberg Business News. AOI said it's positioning itself for when clean air regulations take effect, since no market exists for the 100 million tons of cleaner-burning coal the company receives from the transaction. UTILITY ORDERED TO SHOW CAUSE: The Consumers Power Company, based in Detroit, is the second public utility in a week to be ordered by a Wayne County circuit judge to show cause why it should not be forced to stop making political contributions using ratepayer funds. The utility has been ordered to appear in court Thursday to answer a complaint filed by six customers who object to the funneling of rate payments. FUEL CASKS TO BE SHIPPED: New York activists have notified the Snake River Alliance in Twin Falls, Idaho, that Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory of New York is shipping three spent nuclear fuel casks to Idaho National Engineering Laboratory for Storage. Engineering laboratory officials have refused to discuss the report. GAS TRUCK CRASH CLOSES LOOP: An outer loop of the Beltway over the I-270 spur around Potomac, Md., might be closed for days following a gasoline tank truck crash that killed two people and stranded thousands of commuters for hours. The truck struck a bridge abutment and burst into flames. The truck driver was among those killed. UTILITY SEEKS RATE HIKE: Northern States Power of Grand Forks, N.D., Tuesday asked the state Public Services Commission for a 7.9% electric rate hike. That's an extra $3 per month for its 63,000 customers. The commission has said a 2.3% increase - an extra 90 cents per customer - would be better. A final decision is expected in December. ELECTRIC CARS WORK FOR DRIVERS: Tuesday at Convergence '92, General Motors' John R. Dables said that electric vehicles are consumer-friendly and can fit comfortably into drivers' lifestyles. Dables said the average driver covers fewer than 75 miles per day. GM's Impact prototype electric car has a highway range of 100 miles. Batteries can be charged in two to three hours in standard 220-volt outlets. PITTSTON SAYS INCOME FELL: Pittston Co. Tuesday said third-quarter net income fell 29% to $14.7 million from $20.7 million in the same period a year ago. The diversified transportation and coal company said operating profit for its coal segment rose to $9.8 million from $4 million. Results benefited from two long-term coal supply contracts and strong results from the company's new Heartland operation. Energy Editor: Beth Mann. (1-919-855-3491) Making copies of USA TODAY Update (Copyright, 1992) for further distribution purposes 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