FERC last Friday approved changes proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco) for a tariff establishing a trading pool in Alabama and changes to boost its no-notice firm transportation service.

Under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s green light to move ahead, Transco would establish a pool at Compressor Station 95 in Marion Junction, AL, to allow smoother handling of imbalances caused by lower-than-normal demand and other factors. “The change lets shippers send excess gas downstream to the pool, providing access to more trading opportunities,” said a Transco spokesperson.

Citing Transco’s March 1 filing and various protests it attracted, the Commission concluded that the pipeline’s tariff language establishing the pool was “just and reasonable” and would mitigate acknowledged shipper concerns. Transco was directed to file its actual tariff records, reflecting its pro forma language, 30-60 days before the effective date of the changes, according to the FERC order.

Transco provides no-notice transportation service that allows customers to deviate from scheduled volumes without being charged a penalty. It differs from interruptible transportation service, which is not secured through a firm transportation contract, making it subject to curtailment or interruption.

In the approved tariff, Transco “proposed revisions that would enhance its no-notice service by giving firm customers the ability to take no-notice service at their nontraditional or secondary delivery points when operationally feasible.”

Some parties had argued that Transco’s changes would lower the possibility of shippers delivering gas quantities in excess of scheduled volumes, but FERC concluded that the new tariff would “permit the use of no-notice service at secondary delivery points when operationally feasible,” and that would be “consistent with our regulations, and it would be just and reasonable.”