Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : TGL WHAAAAAAAT! Alerts, thoughts, discussion. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: john who wrote (74726)	12/15/2000 3:35:02 PM
From: Joe Copia	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 150070

Effective at 7:41 a.m. local time, December 15, 2000, trading in the shares of the Company was halted at the request of the Company, pending an announcement. is that a good or bad thing?

To: john who wrote (74726)	12/16/2000 10:18:57 PM
From: Jim Bishop	Respond to of 150070

Saturday 16 December 2000 Cold snap puts heat on power use Province to launch conservation campaign as electricity consumption and prices peak Grant Robertson, Calgary Herald Alberta's appetite for electricity continued to reach unprecedented levels Friday as a provincewide cold snap had generators working overtime and consumers paying the price. The power drain sent electricity spot market prices skyrocketing to more than $650 a kilowatt-hour -- six times the average level for the year, and 15 times the average cost of power in 1999. A record was set for electricity consumption earlier this week, when power demand hit 7,800 megawatts at dinnertime Tuesday. Grappling with the skyrocketing electricity prices and staring down a provincewide supply crisis, the Alberta government is preparing to launch a massive conservation campaign urging homeowners, businesses and institutional consumers to reduce power use. "We're going to be getting the word out. You're going to be seeing a lot more of that message pretty soon," said Alberta Resource Development spokeswoman Donna Babchishin. With two weeks until the province deregulates the electricity market Jan. 1, the conservation campaign has large businesses and institutional power users fuming. Homeowners have been shielded from high power prices by a one-year rate cap imposed by the government. But industrial consumers will be left to buy power at deregulated prices -- a move that will see their power bills at least double. Major electricity consumers say they have been cutting back on power usage for years and conservation is not the answer to the province's woes. With massive energy efficiency programs already in place, there is simply no room to cut further. "We are about as efficient as we can be," said Andrew Moor, president of Smed International Inc., one of Calgary's largest employers and a major power consumer. The international furniture manufacturer uses 3.5 megawatts of power during peak consumption times and is facing a tripling of its power bills once deregulation takes effect. Though Smed hasn't been as vocal in its opposition to the soaring rates as many large businesses, the conservation message is a strange one for the company, renowned for its energy efficiency. Motion sensors inside the Smed building turn off lights when areas, such as bathrooms, are not in use. The company begins manufacturing at 6 a.m. and finishes before 6 p.m. to avoid most of the peak electricity consumption times. "It's not like we were wasting power before," Moor said. The conservation idea is also nothing new to large institutional power consumers, such as Calgary schools. A spokesman for the Calgary Board of Education said it is examining power consumption, but there are not many reductions that haven't already been addressed. Unnecessary lights, for example, are already turned off at night. "We're having one-on-one discussions with our caretakers to ensure that things like computers are turned off at night," said Pommer. "We are already conscious of the need to conserve power." The CBE and the Calgary Catholic School District both face huge electricity costs next year. While the CBE is in the process of negotiating contract for the 2001-2002 school year and hasn't forecasted the impact of higher electricity prices, the Catholic district figures it will face as much as $3 million in additional costs. The operators of Calgary's downtown core are considering dimming -- or extinguishing -- the city skyline at night. But with electricity at its cheapest between supper time and breakfast, there are only limited gains to be made. Across the city, there is the same situation with industrial consumers. The Calgary Airport Authority is facing a tripling of its bills. Like Smed and Calgary-based fertilizer giant Agrium Inc., the airport bought electricity in the province's recent auction of power supply in an attempt to stabilize costs. In a similar move, the University of Calgary and the Calgary Regional Health Authority have banded together to purchase bulk power. The university's power budget will jump from $6 million in 1999 to $12.7 in 2001. "There is no way to make up for it. It just becomes another budgetary pressure," said Steve Dantzer, director of facilities management for the U of C. Like many large-scale power consumers, Agrium president John Van Brunt said his company is considering building its own power generation, believed by some to be the only alternative to high prices. "But that is going to take some time." Industry and institutional power users are calling on the government to offer up some sort of relief for 2001. Resource Development Minister Mike Cardinal is expected to make an announcement Tuesday.