Scana Energy Marketing and Exxon Corp. are urging FERC to bedeliberative as it weighs Atlanta Gas Light’s (AGL) bid for anextension of the waivers and limited jurisdiction blanketcertificate that were approved on a limited basis a year ago toencourage retail gas unbundling in Georgia.

AGL last month urged the Commission to approve the extension ofthe authorizations by July 28th – three months ahead of theirexpiration in late October. It cited a “pressing need forregulatory certainty and an orderly continuation of its unbundlingprogram” as the reason for requesting urgent action. But ScanaEnergy countered that the haste sought by the Georgia utility wasboth “unnecessary and imprudent in light of the deficiencies” inits petition.

Specifically, AGL wants FERC to extend and expand a waiver ofits regulations to enable the utility to make consecutive monthlyprearranged releases to marketers of Part 284 capacity obtained ata discount from Southern Natural Gas and other pipelines. It alsoseeks a continuance of the waiver of the Commission’s”shipper-must-have-title” policy so AGL can allocate interstatecapacity to marketers under its Incremental Bundled Storage Service(IBSS). The extensions being sought would be for up to 3 1/2 years.

In its protest, Scana Energy – which is battling AGL for gasmarket share in the state – asked the Commission to delay action onthe extension request until redesign of the utility’s IBSS servicehas been “finalized,” and AGL has supplied “sufficient information”to resolve questions about possible affiliate preference whenawarding capacity to marketers.

Scana Energy said AGL is looking to restructure its IBSS serviceinto two separate jurisdictional services: a peaking and a durationstorage service, with marketers making separate nominations foreach service. AGL has “informally suggested” that such arestructuring would require an estimated $450,000 up-frontinvestment, which would be paid for by marketers. But AGL failed toprovide any specific details about the proposed redesign of IBSS inits request for an extension.

“If, as the marketers have suggested and AGL apparentlyacknowledges, there is a flaw in the IBSS program, the Commissionshould determine – with input from interested parties – whetherAGL’s proposed remedy is sufficient and cost efficient,” ScanaEnergy said. AGL plans to seek authorization to restructure itsIBSS service from the Georgia Public Service Commission, but ScanaEnergy argues that FERC, not the state, has jurisdiction in thematter.

Additionally, Scana Energy charged that AGL failed to meet thereporting requirements under the limited Section 7 (c) certificateit was granted to carry out its IBSS service. Specifically, themarketer contends AGL fell far short by not publicly disclosing the”volumes and prices” of capacity that was awarded to its affiliatesunder its limited certificate authority. Although AGL did submitdata confidentially, Scana Energy argues the utility waived itsright to confidential treatment when it accepted the limitedcertificate last year.

Exxon called on FERC to either deny AGL’s extension request”outright,” or to permit it “only for an additional one-year periodso as to allow the Commission to address on a generic basis theappropriate steps, if any, [it] should take to facilitate retailunbundling.”

The producer contends the proposed extension contradicts FERC’sOrder 636 principles because it would allow AGL “to continue tocarve out blocks of interstate pipeline capacity and allocate thatcapacity to designated marketers.” It also is “at odds” with theCommission’s capacity-auction plan outlined in the notice ofproposed rulemaking (NOPR) on short-term transportation, Exxonsaid.

The proposed capacity auction “will not mitigate market power ifLDCs and state commissions can effectively remove large blocks ofcapacity from the marketplace and direct its release to specificmarketers, including AGL’s own affiliate.”

©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.