Given that the case is now before a court, FERC is “powerless”to act on KN Wattenberg Transmission LLC’s petition seeking aone-year extension of the construction and operation deadline forits proposed 109-mile Front Runner Pipeline, which was supposed tobegin service this month, says a competing pipeline.

And even if the Commission did have jurisdiction, it shouldrefuse to extend the optional certificate for KN Wattenberg tobuild Front Runner, argued the Public Service Co. of Colorado(PSCo), sponsor of the competing Front Range Pipeline, in aresponse filed at FERC last week [CP98-49]. “The Commission shouldeschew engaging in heroic measures to bring the certificate back tolife.” The certificate expired July 10th.

In the petition filed earlier this month, KN Wattenberg askedFERC for the “additional time” to conduct “further market analysis”of its project following the completion of the competing 53-mile,269 MDth/d Front Range line, which went into operation lastNovember (see Daily GPI, July 14). The sponsors of Front Runner andFront Range have been locked in a fierce race to build new capacityto serve the growing Denver, CO, market. Although Front Range haswon hands down, KN Wattenberg insists there’s still a need for itsproposed Front Runner facilities. However, it appears to bequestioning the extent of that need now.

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