FERC yesterday upheld its March decision on remand in which itdisclaimed jurisdiction over a four-mile, six-inch line of KNWattenberg Transmission LLC that serves two industrial customers inFort Morgan, CO. The Commission asserted jurisdiction over thelateral in a November 1997 ruling, but the U.S. Court of Appealsfor the Tenth Circuit remanded the decision two years later. LastMarch, FERC vacated its controversial decision upon acknowledgingthat the line met the qualifications for a Hinshaw exemption and,therefore, was subject to regulation by the Colorado PublicUtilities Commission.

Piedmont Natural Gas has signed a formal agreement to purchase agas distribution system serving 5,100 customers in Gaffney, SC,from Atmos Energy for $5.8 million. Atmos operates its UnitedCities Gas subsidiary in the Gaffney area. Piedmont has announcedthat it will continue to maintain a local Gaffney office and retainexisting United Cities’ employees. The transaction is subject toregulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of theyear. Piedmont serves about 660,000 residential, commercial andindustrial customers in the Carolinas and in Tennessee. It is thesecond largest gas utility in the Southeast behind Atlanta GasLight.

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