While federal regulators may be a bit “bearish” on natural gas pipeline projects, that’s a good thing, according to PG&E Gas Transmission Northwest, which is still waiting for its final okay from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on environmental safeguards for its certificated 2002 pipeline expansion in Idaho and a small part of Washington state. It expects the final, final okay by the end of this week.

FERC commissioners gave the go-ahead last week for the 21-mile expansion of 42-inch-diameter pipe and 97,500 horsepower of added compression at five stations. But the PG&E pipeline is waiting for approval of mitigation plans for the grizzly bears along the route who have been known to intermingle with the lunches of pipeline construction crews, if not the workers themselves. Fencing to keep them at bay is planned, according to PG&E spokesperson in Portland, Megan Frey.

The 200 MMcf/d expansion of its interstate pipeline system bringing western Canadian supplies to the Pacific Northwest and California will be the first of about four or five expansions in the next several years, Frey said, if demand for gas continues to growth in the West, driven primarily by an explosion of new gas-fired power plants.

Earlier this year, PG&E’s gas pipeline received sufficient customer interest to spark a second expansion proposal that will become effective in 2003. Together the two expansions would bring its total pipeline capacity out of western Canada to 3.2 Bcf/d. Frey said the company is also anticipating possible expansions in 2004 and 2005.

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