The Millennium Pipeline Project and Southern Energy New York,the company that manages Southern Energy’s New York assets, jointlyannounced Wednesday a plan to build an extension from the proposedMillennium Pipeline to the Bowline Power Plant in Rockland County,NY. The interconnect will be counted as an addition to Millenniumwhich still awaits FERC approval.

The 1,215 MW, two-gas-turbine facility consumes up to 300MMcf/d. “For that reason alone, this interconnect is significant,”said Karl Brack, a Columbia Energy spokesman. Columbia Energy isthe majority interest holder and operator of the Millenniumproject. “The entire capacity of the pipeline is 714 MMcf/d, andthis interconnect, when it is running at maximum efficiency, willrequire a substantial amount.” Brack said the interconnect shouldpose no problem to build because Millennium’s proposed path runsthrough the Bowline facility’s property. “The interconnect would bevery short, like a matter of a few yards.”

If the interconnect is built, Southern would have to purchasegas from one of the marketers that has been allocated capacity onthe pipeline. The marketers that have capacity on the Millenniumsystem are Stand Energy Corp., Columbia Energy Services, CoEnergy(an MCN subsidiary), Engage Energy (a Westcoast Energy and CoastalCorp. affiliate), Renaissance Energy, TransCanada Gas Services,Duke Energy Trading and Marketing, PanCanadian Petroleum Co. IBM,and North East Heat & Light Co. (an LDC) are the only othershippers to have capacity on the system.

The 442-mile, 36-inch diameter Millennium Pipeline is proposedto extend from its point of origin in Lake Erie to WestchesterCounty, NY. Millennium currently has an application before FERC andis requesting approval in time to start operations by November2000. Columbia Gas says it intends to begin construction in 1999and to meet the planned in-service date of Nov. 1, 2000.

Last November, Southern Energy bought all of Orange &Rockland’s generating assets for $480 million. The sale totaled1,776 MW with the Bowline facility accounting for the largemajority of the generation. Southern Energy New York was created tomanage these assets, a Southern Energy spokesman said, and it hasplans for a $390 million, 710 MW upgrade plan.

©Copyright 1999 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. Thepreceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, inwhole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.