Empire State Pipeline is holding an open season to garner market interest in a possible expansion that would give Northeastern markets, particularly those in New York, greater access to Canadian supply and storage. The open season closes July 31.

During the open season, Empire will be accepting non-binding requests for firm transportation to all delivery points. Capacity is available to Grand Island, Pendleton, Royalton, Mendon, Arcadia and Lysander starting in November. Limited capacity is available to Phoenix (Line 39) for the period of Nov. 1 to March 31, 2002 with additional capacity available in November 2002. With sufficient interest, Empire will build additional facilities to meet demand. The exact nature of the expansion will depend upon the delivery points requested by bidders.

The intrastate pipe currently has a capacity of 525 MMcf/day and provides transportation services in upper New York State, moving gas from TransCanada Pipeline (TCPL) at Chippawa near Buffalo to markets as far east as Syracuse. Opened in 1993, Empire provides transportation to market centers in upper New York State through interconnects with National Fuel Gas, New York State Gas & Electric, Rochester Gas & Electric, Dominion Transmission and Niagara Mohawk. The pipeline also provides access to the Leidy Hub through interconnects with National Fuel at Pendleton and Dominion at Lysander. Empire also connects to Dawn Hub and the Union Gas system through TCPL.

Empire is supplied with Canadian gas through the TransCanada at Chippawa. The nearest upstream market hub, located at Dawn on the Union Gas system, is a major trading point for marketers, producers and end-users. Union Gas has over 142 Bcf of working storage and has seven interconnects with five different pipelines. The fastest growing hub in North America, Dawn is a major supply hub for Empire shippers. During 2000, Dawn averaged 7.6 Bcf/day in title transfers.

For more information contact Carol Cameron at (519) 436-5258 or ccameron@uniongas.com .

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