FERC last week gave the green light for ANR Pipeline to moveahead with construction of its Wisconsin Loop Expansion Project,which would provide about 116 MMcf/d of additional capacity toLDCs, marketers and power generators in the state. This puts ANRout in front of competing projects that also intend to vie for themarket.

Significantly, the expanded capacity will provide Wisconsincustomers with another means to access the cheaper Canadian gassupplies that will come in over the Northern Border Pipelineexpansion and the Alliance Pipeline projects when they’recompleted, said ANR spokesman Joseph Martucci.

In awarding the certificate, the Commission gave ANR a headstart over competing projects, the reborn Voyageur Pipeline and theIllinois Wisconsin Express, that also intend to bring the cheaperCanadian gas into the growing Wisconsin gas market. Voyageur andthe Express haven’t even filed project proposals at FERC yet.

The $24 million expansion, which will add 11.7 miles of 30-inchdiameter looping from Joliet, IL, north into Wisconsin, is inresponse to an open season that the pipeline held in 1997, Martuccinoted. He said the Michigan-based pipeline also might furtherexpand its system in the future in response to a open season thatended Aug. 31. “We’re still evaluating the bids,” he said, whenasked to estimate the amount of capacity requests received by ANR.He noted, however, that if ANR does decide on an additionalexpansion, it would be to provide service in 2000 or later.

“Our objective is to grow with the state on a phased-in basis,”he told NGI, adding that much of the gas growth is coming frompower generators. Martucci said ANR plans to meet that increasedgas demand with additional looping and/or extra horsepower atexisting compressor stations, rather than to build new greenfieldprojects.

Susan Parker

©Copyright 1998 Intelligence Press, Inc. All rightsreserved. The preceding news report may not be republished orredistributed in whole or in part without prior written consent ofIntelligence Press, Inc.