It took FERC only a few days to recognize that ANR PipelineCo.’s March 8 application for a second Wisconsin expansion projectin 18 months fails to meet the Commission’s test for showing marketneed.

An application for a pipeline expansion must include”long-term.executed or binding precedent agreements for asubstantial amount of the firm capacity resulting from the proposedfacilities.” But two of ANR’s precedent agreements, representing28% of the proposed 194,000 Dth/d of firm capacity additions,”appear to fall short” of satisfying that test because they contain”shipper board-of-director” out provisions, Kevin P. Madden, FERC’sdirector of the office of pipeline regulation, told ANR in a letterlast week.

As a result, the status the project “will remain uncertain untileach affected shipper notifies ANR that it has received therequisite board-of-director approval for its agreements and/or thatthe out provision has been waived or modified.” ANR’s applicationis considered incomplete and is not being noticed, Madden said. Hethreatened to dismiss the application if the pipeline doesn’t comeup with the required material within 20 days.

The $37.5 million expansion would consist mainly of 20,000additional horsepower at ANR’s Woodstock, IL, compressor station;1,500 additional horsepower each at the Existing Janesville, WI,and Weyauwega, WI, stations; and three miles of 42-inch pipelooping adjacent to ANR’s existing system in Kendall County, IL.Service is scheduled to being in November 2000.

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