EnergyUSA-TPC, a subsidiary of NiSource, is making good use ofits high deliverability storage expertise, signing on to managesupply for utilities and independent generators while a subsidiaryadds new storage facilities in the Northeast and Mississippi.

The company announced earlier this week it has executed a gassupply and asset management contract with Southern Connecticut Gasbeginning April 1, 2000.

Meanwhile, Market Hub Partners (MHP), a subsidiary ofEnergyUSA-TPC, has started drilling for its long-planned TiogaCounty, PA, caverns and is planning a new salt dome facility inCopiah Co., MS. MHP is expected to announce an open season for theMississippi facility in the near future. The Copiah County storagecould be connected to Texas Eastern, Southern Natural, Koch, andTransco’s Station 70, according to Alan Vaina, vice president ofnortheast sales and marketing. The facility also would be near a500 KV line, Vaina pointed out, which might encourage the locationof a generating plant nearby.

The long regulatory delay on construction of the Pennsylvaniafacility, inspired by its battle with neighboring storage operatorDominion (CNG) Transmission, may have worked to MHP’s advantage.”While we were delayed, states have unbundled, and utilities andLDCs have a much clearer picture of what they need. We are inserious discussions with some utilities,” Vaina said, for use ofthe two-cavern, 5 Bcf, Phase I facility expected to be completed byNovember 2002. A salt plant will be constructed just south of theTioga facility to take the brine from the cavern excavation.

EnergyUSA-TPC, a combination created by NiSource when it boughtout Tejas Power a year ago, is using its Southwest storage fieldsalready in service, Moss Bluff in Texas and Eagan, LA, to even outsome of the bumps for utilities. The company will manage SouthernConnecticut’s gas supply, storage, and pipeline transportationassets, providing service to the New England LDC’s firm andinterruptible customers.

“We’re positioned to serve high-swing, short-notice requirementsof gas and electric utilities,” said Peter Tumminello, vicepresident of structured transactions. “Our salt dome storage can gofrom zero to maximum deliveries in 15 minutes. Since 1994 utilitieshave been coming to us to manage their transportation and storage.”EnergyUSA-TPC, which comes under NiSource’ umbrella of unregulatedenterprises, is one of the top three asset managers in theNortheast, Tumminello said. “The market is going to continue to beextremely volatile. Those who hold assets are in the best position.We can exploit the inherent physical and financial advantages inthose midstream assets.”

Southern Connecticut’s eye is on the bottom line. “Theasset-management program should significantly reduce gas costs forratepayers during a time of rising natural gas commodity prices,”said Sal A. Ardigliano, president of the LDC, which holds 170,000dt/d of firm transportation capacity and 4 Bcf of storage.”Southern has been one of the earliest proponents of these programsand as a result, our customers have consistently received thebenefit of our and the asset manager’s combined skills, which arenot available to other gas customers in Connecticut.” The LDCoutsourced for the first time last year.

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