The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Thursday issued a certificate to Southern Natural Gas pipeline to expand its system to provide more natural gas to a power generator in Georgia. The South System Expansion III (SSEIII Project) would provide up to 375,000 Dth/d of firm capacity for Southern Company Services Inc. (SCS) to serve affiliate Georgia Power Co.’s proposed expansion of its Plant Jack McDonough electric generation facilities near Atlanta.

At the same time the Commission approved Southeast Supply Header’s (SESH) and Southern Natural Gas’ application to expand Southern’s capacity on the jointly held portion of SESH’s pipeline system. The first 117.19 miles of the SESH pipeline are owned by SESH and Southern. The proposed joint pipeline expansion (JPE Phase II) would increase Southern’s capacity on that segment to 500,000 Dth/d from 140,000 Dth/d.

The SSEIII expansion, along with the JPE II project, is designed to cater to Georgia Power’s plans to add two 840 MW natural gas-fueled generators at its Jack McDonough facility in Cobb County, GA. Georgia Power proposes to retire its two coal-fired units totaling 540 MW of capacity and replace them with the gas-fueled units. Southern and SCS have entered into a long-term firm precedent agreement to provide the 375,000 Dth/d in gas to the power plant in three phases, beginning in January 2011 through May 2032. Both Georgia Power and SCS are affiliates of Atlanta-based Southern Company, the fourth largest utility company in the United States.

To provide the firm service to SCS, Southern in Phase I of the SSEIII Project proposes to construct a 31.2-mile, 36-inch diameter loop in Georgia, paralleling Southern’s existing Thomaston-Griffin Loop Pipeline; abandon and replace 10.9 miles of the existing 18-inch diameter South Atlanta-Austell Pipeline with a 30-inch diameter pipeline in Fulton and Clayton counties in Georgia; and install a Plant McDonough Meter Station on the South Atlanta-Austell Pipeline near Union City in Fulton County. Southern proposes an in-service date of Jan. 1, 2011 for the looping and replacement pipeline, and an in-service date of May 1, 2010 for the meter station.

Phase II of the SSEIII project calls for the construction of a 12-mile, 36-inch diameter Gwinville Loop paralleling Southern’s existing South Main System in Jefferson Davis and Simpson counties in Mississippi; construction of a 7.7-mile, 36-inch diameter Enterprise Loop, paralleling Southern’s existing main system in Lauderdale County, MS, and Choctaw and Sumter counties in Alabama; installation of a 10,310 hp gas-fired compressor unit at Southern’s existing Bay Springs Compressor Station in Jasper County, MS; and minor modifications to its existing Enterprise Compressor Station in Clarke County, MS. Southern proposes an in-service date of June 1, 2011 for this phase.

And for Phase III Southern plans to construct a 2.4-mile, 36-inch diameter Bay Springs Loop paralleling Southern’s main system in Clarke County; construct a 5.2-mile Gallion Loop in Hall and Perry counties in Alabama; abandon and replace 11.7 miles of 16-inch diameter pipeline with 42-inch diameter pipeline in Elmore County, AL; and install a 7,000 hp electric motor unit at its existing Ellerslie Compressor Station in Harris County, GA. Southern proposes an in-service date of June 1, 2012 for this phase.

As for expanding the pipeline jointly held by SESH and Southern, they propose installing a 12,916 hp gas turbine-driven compressor unit at the existing Delhi Compressor Station in Richland Parish, LA and a 12,736 hp gas turbine-driven compressor unit at the existing Gwinville Compressor Station in Jefferson Davis County. This project, which would ramp up Southern’s capacity on the joint line to 500,000 Dth/d, is expected to go into service on June 1, 2011.

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