Bay State Gas avoided a significant bypass by the MassachusettsMunicipal Wholesale Electric Co. (MMWEC) thanks to landowneropposition to a larger pipeline proposal and a lengthy negotiationprocess. After two years of work on an alternative 15-mile bypassof the Bay State system that would have linked with Tennessee GasPipe Line, MMWEC yesterday signed a 20-year agreement covering 13Bcf/year of new gas transportation on Bay State’s system to servepower generation load.

MMWEC plans to build a six-mile, 20-inch diameter gas lineconnecting the 522 MW Stony Brook power plant near the Westover AirReserve Base in Ludlow to Bay State’s gas distribution system.

“People had felt that it would have been better to own our ownpipeline to better control the flow of gas. However because ofvarious [landowner and environmental] issues that have come up, wedecided to go with the Bay State proposal,” said Sandy Magyar, aspokeswoman for MMWEC. She said the transportation agreement andnew pipeline will allow the municipal utility’s power plant to runprimarily on gas rather than fuel oil.

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