A proposal by Reliant Energy Gas Transmission (NorAm) for a newhourly firm transportation service and rate schedule to meetpeaking needs of the power industry drew few objections in atechnical conference at FERC Thursday.

Reliant clarified that the service would not disrupt regularfirm transportation and agreed to notify bumped IT and AOS shippersby telephone. Power customers can nominate the service by Internetand it will be confirmed by e-mail.

The proposal, revealed late last month, picked up endorsementsfrom both ends of the pipe at NGI’s GasMart/Power’99. Both producerattorney Katherine Edwards and David D’Alessandro, who representsthe New York Public Service Commission, agreed it is better to adda specialized type of service to the tariff, making it available toall, than to negotiate with only selected customers. “I want tocomplement Reliant on doing it this way, not waiting to do it asnegotiated terms and conditions but by coming out and filing on apro forma basis,” Edwards said.

Reliant said it is prepared to put the fast on-and-off servicein place June 1. “Three years ago, even one and a half years ago,we couldn’t have done this,” Dale C. Earwood, president of ReliantEnergy Interstate Pipelines, said. “The technology wasn’t advancedenough. Now we can get good electronic information from ourcustomers on a timely basis and good information on what’shappening on the pipeline system.” Reliant Energy Transmission has”largely identified a need and has the ability to handletransactions on a short term cycle.” While FERC has pushedpipelines to intraday deliveries, “this transcends intraday.”

Customers wanting more information about this new hourly servicecan contact Willie Underwood at (713)-207-5127.

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