FERC Monday approved Washington State utility Puget Sound Energy Inc.’s proposal to increase the withdrawal deliverability capacity of a storage facility in which it is part owner by 300 MMcf/d.

Bellevue, WA-based Puget Sound proposes to bolster the withdrawal capacity of the existing Jackson Prairie Storage facility in Lewis County, WA, to 1,150 MMcf/d from 850 MMcf/d. The storage facility is jointly owned by Puget Sound, Northwest Pipeline and Avista Corp., a Spokane, WA-based electric and gas utility. Jackson Prairie is connected only to Northwest’s system, which serves the two utilities.

In the same order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also approved Northwest’s proposal to use its one-third share of the storage facility’s proposed expanded firm withdrawal capacity, 104,000 Dth/d, and expanded firm working gas capacity, 1,200,000 Dth, to provide incremental firm storage service [CP06-412, CP06-416].

The project calls for Puget Sound, which operates Jackson Prairie, to construct up to 10 new injection/withdrawal wells; additional pipeline facilities; a 10,480 horsepower compressor unit and associated facilities; upgrades and restages of three existing compressor units at the Jackson Prairie Compressor Station; and a new separator and relief valve that will raise the design capacity of the compressor station to 1.3 Bcf/d from 1 Bcf/d.

Puget Sound said the project, which will cost an estimated $43.8 million, will be built in two phases, with up to five injection/withdrawal wells to be completed during this summer and the remaining facilities to be completed during 2008.

Northwest said it has entered into precedent agreements for its one-third share of the expanded storage capacity with Cascade Natural Gas Corp., Idaho Power Co., the Boeing Co. and Terasen Gas Inc.

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