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To: jbe who wrote (25958)	7/18/1998 10:43:00 AM
From: P.Prazeres	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

All: Read this: Something tells me that the API numbers will be bullish again next week. Natural Gas, Electricity Futures Surge on Heat, Outages July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas jumped and electricity futures soared more than 17 percent as broiling heat boosted demand for air conditioning and a nuclear power plant was shut down for repairs. ''You can cook all the eggs you want on the sidewalk,'' said Steve Murphy, director of power trading at Entergy Corp. in Houston, the third-largest power generator in the U.S. ''There is some hot weather and there are also some (utility) outages salt and peppered around.'' Temperatures have been above 100 degrees Fahrenheit all month across much of the South and Southwest. The death toll from the summer heat wave has risen to at least 55 people across Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, Reuters reported, citing local medical officials. Now, forecasters say that heat will spread into the Midwest next week. Utilities burn natural gas to make electricity. Natural gas for August delivery at the Henry Hub in Louisiana rose 3.3 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $2.165 per million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Electricity for September delivery at the Cinergy grid in Ohio rose $8.90, or 21.2 percent, to $50.88 per megawatt hour on the Nymex. Electricity for September delivery at the grid managed by Entergy rose $8.13, or 17.7 percent, to $54 a megawatt hour. The two contracts started trading last week. Average U.S. temperatures will be 4.7 degrees above normal and cooling demand is expected to be 138 percent of normal through Thursday, according to Weather Derivatives Inc. of Belton, Missouri. One of the power outages was at the Waterford nuclear reactor yesterday. Traders said the loss of 1,075-megawatt reactor last night sent the utilities in search of power before prices soared. Entergy shut the 1,075-megawatt Waterford nuclear reactor in Louisiana yesterday after an electrical malfunction decreased the speed of a water pump, which resulted in decreased water levels in the steam generator. Entergy was preparing to restart the reactor today, the NRC reported. Entergy, the third-largest U.S. power generator, also shut a 540-megawatt, natural gas-fueled generator at its Ritchie power plant in Helena Arkansas, electricity traders said