U.S. Generating Co. filed last week at the FERC touting its Caloosa Generating Project as more economically and environmentally friendly than Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) Fort Myers project, at the same time lending support to the recently announced Gulfstream Natural Gas System.

The Fort Myers Project is the major customer of Florida Gas Transmission Co.’s (FGT) proposed Phase IV expansion. U.S. Generating’s Caloosa would take its gas from Coastal Corp.’s proposed Gulfstream system, a competitor to the FGT expansion.

U.S. Generating alleges FPL was something more than coy when it came to meeting to discuss USGen’s alternative project. “After chastising USGen for not meeting with FPL to discuss its project., FPL agreed to meet – then refused to meet – with US Gen. In its letter canceling the meeting, FPL stated that it will never consider USGen’s project, under any circumstances, regardless of how much money it will save ratepayers or how significant the environmental benefits,” USGen wrote in its response to answers of FGT and FPL, Docket No. CP99-94-000.

According to USGen, its Caloosa Project beats FPL’s Fort Myers project by providing the same amount of power (nearly 1,100 MW) more efficiently with lower NOx and CO emissions and using less gas. “.[T]he Caloosa Generating Project has the ability to use Coastal Corp.’s newly announced off-shore Gulfstream Natural Gas System. The commission may find the Gulfstream Natural Gas System to be a superior source of gas compared to FGT’s proposed construction of a 113-mile lateral. Moreover, it will bring a competitive gas alternative to South Florida – the first such competitor to FGT.”

USGen told the FERC it should delay its consideration of FGT’s application until the Commission has had the chance to examine the alternative generating and pipeline projects.

Coastal is attempting to beat Williams-Transco to the punch in Florida with a Gulf-crossing pipeline of its own (see Daily GPI March 2, 1999). Coastal said it already has nine shippers to back its project. Williams’ competing project is the Buccaneer Pipeline project. Both Buccaneer and Gulfstream would extend from Mobile Bay offshore Alabama to Florida’s Gulf Coast and would then traverse the Florida peninsula to the Atlantic Coast. Consisting of 700 miles of pipeline and related facilities, Gulfstream’s route ultimately would terminate in West Palm Beach near Florida’s East Coast. Coastal said pipeline laterals are planned to deliver gas to fuel new electric generation capacity at various locations along the Peninsula. Both pipelines have targeted in-service dates in 2002.

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