The Colorado Interstate Gas Co. officially filed a plan with theFederal Energy Regulatory Commission Dec. 4 to increase pipelinecapacity from its Cheyenne Hub area south to Front Range markets.CIG’s proposed $72 million expansion would include 84 miles of20-inch pipeline and two generators along the eastern slope of theRocky Mountains to a planned 480 MW power plant south of ColoradoSprings.

The Nixon lateral will run from CIG’s Watkins Station, east ofDenver, following existing CIG pipeline right-of-way to a meterstation south of Colorado Springs. The planned route will deviatefrom the existing right-of-way around areas in Douglas County, CO.

The proposal followed an open season for expanding parts of itssystem serving all markets between Cheyenne Hub and Valley Linedelivery points (see Daily GPI, Sept. 11). It would have anin-service date of Dec. 1, 2002, according to CIG. One part of thepipeline would be 35 miles long, with a 24-inch looping facility,while another 84 miles would have a 20-inch pipeline loop.

In its filing, CIG said the pipeline expansion is required to”meet additional natural gas fuel requirements for electricgeneration and to provide additional natural gas to localdistribution systems.” Construction is scheduled to begin in April2002, pending FERC approval.

“Demand for electricity in the Front Range is continuing togrow, and natural gas is proving to be the fuel of choice for newelectric generation,” said Jon Whitney, CEO of CIG. “CIG has beenexpanding its system to connect the growing natural gas supply inthe Rocky Mountain region with the increasing demand for naturalgas. This project is a perfect fit with the supply growth on thenorthern part of our system.”

The pipeline would be expanded to deliver up to 336,000 Dth/d toa power plant scheduled to be constructed by Front Range Power LLC,jointly owned by Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) and Coastal PowerCo., a Coastal Corp. subsidiary. The facility would use two gasturbine generators and is scheduled for completion in the fourthquarter of 2002. CSU will use the power to meet the increasingdemand in the Colorado Springs area, and capacity will be marketedto other users in the state and surrounding states.

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