Top news
TerraForm Global sues SunEdison, claiming it diverted funds to pay offmargin loan
Facedwith a need for cash to avoid an imminent default on a margin loan late last year,SunEdison Inc.'s managementmanipulated its TerraForm Global Inc.affiliate into providing a $231 million "pre-payment" for solar projectsthat it was developing in India and then diverted those funds to prop up its "flaggingliquidity position," the yieldco allegedin an April 3 lawsuit.
Questar shareholder suit alleges company undervalued in Dominion deal
is being targeted ina class-action shareholder lawsuit alleging that the company agreed to be by Dominion Resources Inc. for a sub-optimal price.
Wyo. governor promises support for coal layoffs, warns of long-term challenges
Aftertwo of the country's largest coal producers announced hundreds of layoffs at Wyomingmines, the state's political leadership responded with pledges of support and long-termservices but few immediate solutions for the battered local industry.
Power
* $1.80 billion worth of notes to retireshort-term debt incurred to complete the funding of its recently closed of and for general corporatepurposes.
* Twolaw firms, RosenLaw Firm and PomerantzLLP, have filed class-action lawsuits on behalf of purchasers of securities fromMay 7, 2015, through March 15, 2016. The lawsuits seek to recover damages againstdefendants for alleged violations of federal securities laws.
* FitchRatings continuesto see uncertainty over the recently approved retail rate riders for cost recoveryof American Electric Power Co. Inc.and FirstEnergy Corp.'sutilities' purchased power agreements with complaints pending with FERC.
* MacquarieCapital (USA) Inc. downgraded CMSEnergy Corp. to "neutral" from "outperform." Ina separate action, Macquarie downgraded NextEraEnergy Inc. to "neutral" from "outperform."
* TheSouthwest Power Pool Inc.anticipates a net gain of about 3,610 MW of generating capacity in 2016, accordingto an SNL Energy analysis.New capacity additions in SPP are expected to total 5,087 MW in 2016, with approximately81%, or 4,125 MW, coming from wind-powered capacity. Retirements in SPP during 2016are expected to total 1,477 MW.
* said it reached an agreementwith Solyndra Residual Trust to settle an antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. DistrictCourt of the Northern District of California. Under the settlement, Yingli willpay $7.5 million to Solyndra, and the lawsuit against the company will be dismissedwith prejudice. The Chinese company will make an additional one-time payment of$10 million to Solyndra if its total solar panel sales to the U.S. and Canada equalsor exceeds 800 MW in a single calendar year between 2016 and 2018.
* DominionResources is sellingabout $750.0 million worth of common shares to fund in part its proposed of Questar and to repayshort-term debt, including commercial paper. Citigroup is acting as the sole underwriter.
* TheIllinois Commerce Commission has approvedIllinois Power Agency's solar photovoltaic procurement plan for the sale of solar renewable energy credits, or SRECs,under a bidding process. The plan calls for at least three and at most four procurementevents, with a cumulative expenditure of $30 million, for SRECs derived from threesize categories of solar PV generating systems under 25 kW, 25 kW to 500 kW and500 kW to 2 MW.
* said it agreedto issue $350.0 million of 4.12% senior unsecured medium-term notes due April7, 2026, to pay down existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes.
Natural gas/midstream
*Spectra Energy Corp has agreed to acquireapproximately 9.1 million common units in SpectraEnergy Partners LP at $45.96 per unit, a move that will increase itsownership interest in Spectra Energy Partners to 78%. "The proceeds from these transactions,and the pending sale ofour Empress asset, enable us to further execute on our 2016-2018 capital expansionplan," said Greg Ebel, chairman and CEO of Spectra Energy and Spectra EnergyPartners.
* said it has acquiredAitken Creek Gas Storage ULC from Chevron Canada Properties Ltd. Aitken Creek isthe only underground natural gas storage facility in British Columbia and has atotal working gas capacity of 77 Bcf, according to a company release.
* is that shut its Keystoneoil pipeline in South Dakota. The leak occurred about 4 miles from the Freeman pumpstation in Hutchinson County, TransCanada told local media in a statement. The newsrelease was on its media website, and company representatives did not immediatelyrespond to emails seeking comment.
* subsidiaryEnterprise Products Operating LLCsold $1.25billion worth of senior debt to meet certain debt obligations. Separately, sold$800.0 million of debt to repay a portion of borrowings outstanding under its term-loanfacility.
* Upstreamoperators in five major oil and gas plays have been able to slice 25% to 30% from their costs since 2012, theU.S. Energy Information Administration reported.
* said it has cut10% of its workforce, representing about 300 operational and corporate roles, andreduced its capital budget to $250 million, according to a newsrelease.
Coal
*The North Carolina SuperiorCourt has issued orders requiring the cleanup of coal ash from three leaking sites in the state.The orders require the excavation and removal of coal ash from leaking unlined pitsand lagoons on the Cape Fear River in Wilmington and Moncure, the Neuse River inGoldsboro and the Lumber River in Lumberton, the Southern Environmental Law Centersaid in a statement.
* Closingout the first quarter of 2016, March coal markets traded flat to slightly lower. While natural gas pricingto finish winter provides no support to coal, producers simply cannot discount furtherto preserve market share. The ongoing result is a substantial weakness in demandgoing into the shoulder season that could exceed year-over-year tonnage losses seenat this time in 2015.
Commodities
*Nomination data from twokey pipelines that span more than 19,000 miles and serve parts of the Gulf Coast,Southeast, Midwest, Middle Atlantic and the Northeast point toward gas-fired generation'scontinued chipping awayat king coal's market share.
* Participatingstates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative released auction documents April 4 for the program's second quarterlyauction of the year to be held June 1. The 32nd RGGI auction will offer for sale15,089,652 allocation year 2016 CO2 allowances, using a reserve price of $2.10/ton.
* Followinga 4.2-cent gain in the week's opening session to a settle at $1.998/MMBtu, May naturalgas futures continued to tack on valueovernight ahead of the Tuesday, April 5, open amid ongoing weather support, as forecastsfor stubborn cold across major demand centers during what is typically the onsetof the shoulder season fuel anticipation of lingering heating demand that shouldallow for a slow start to the injection season.
* Powervalues at the day-ahead markets coulddeflate Tuesday, April 5, amid pressure from prospects for demand weaknessin much of the country at midweek, likely to be limited, however, by steadily advancingfront-month natural gas futures.
*March was a good month forbullish traders in natural gas, but concerns about the sustainability of the upsidemomentum in prices are emanating fromthe latest data on so-called smart money accounts. The same large tradersappeared to lighten up and reduce their positive bias in the crude oil market.
New from RRA
*On April 4, , AGL Resources Inc., AGL subsidiary Atlanta Gas Light Co., all intervening gas marketers, andmost other intervenors reached a settlementwith the Georgia Public Service Commission staff regarding Southern's proposed acquisitionof AGL.
Quoted
"Thesepublic sustainability and renewable energy commitments are not hollow; they aredriving global purchasing of electricity," companies including IKEA, food andcandy manufacturer Mars Inc. and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts in comments supporting the U.S.EPA's Clean Power Plan. "A poor reputation on climate, such as not achievingtheir sustainability and emission reduction goals, can hurt sales and damage customerrelations."
The day ahead
* Earlymorning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. equity markets.To view more SNL equity market indexes, click here.To view more SNL Energy commodities prices, click here.