NYMEX TO BEGIN TRADING ELECTRICITY FUTURES CONTRACT ON SEPT. 14
7/19/0 11:33 (New York)


     (The following is a reformatted version of a press release issued by
New
York Mercantile Exchange.)

Exchange Sets Launch Date for Mid-Columbia Electricity Futures Contracts

     NEW YORK, NY, July 17, 2000 - The New York Mercantile Exchange today
announced September 15 as the launch date for its electricity futures
contract
based on delivery in the Mid-Columbia River region.
     The contract will begin trading at 4 PM on September 14, which marks
the
start of the September 15 electronic trading session.
     This contract will be traded electronically along with the other
Exchange
electricity contracts on the NYMEX ACCESSr system, with the session
beginning at
7 PM on Sundays and 4 PM on Mondays through Thursdays and ending at 2:30 PM
Mondays through Fridays.
     Other than delivery location, the contract will reflect the terms of
the
Exchange's California/Oregon border and Palo Verde electricity futures
contracts
including a unit size of 432 megawatt hours (Mwh) of firm electricity,
delivered
at a rate of one megawatt per hour, with the size of the actual delivery
varying
according to the number of on-peak days during the delivery month.
     Exchange President R. Patrick Thompson said, "We are delighted that we
will
be able to add a tool based on this active market center to our electricity
risk
management and price discovery product mix. We continue to work with the
industry to introduce products and services that meet the needs of this
rapidly
evolving marketplace."
     Other terms and conditions paralleling those in all of the Exchange's
existing electricity futures contracts, include:
     Delivery Period-16 on-peak hours: hour ending 0700 (6 AM) Pacific time
to
hour ending 2200 (10 PM)Pacific time on each business day of the delivery
month
     Termination of Trading-Trading in the delivery month shall cease on
the
fourth business day prior to the first day of the delivery month.
     Prices and Fluctuations- Prices shall be quoted in dollars and cents
per
Mwh. The minimum price fluctuation will be $.01 per Mwh. There is no
maximum
daily price fluctuation.


Contact:
Nachamah Jacobovits
212 299-2430

Maria Gonzalez
212 299-2436