Acting swiftly on the pipeline’s plea, FERC on Monday said Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline could take an additional six months to complete construction and place into service a proposed lateral in Missouri.

The project certificate, which the Commission issued in March 2003, required Southern Star Central, formerly Williams Gas Pipelines Central, to place the $10.5-million line in operation within a year. However, due to extended rehearing proceedings at FERC, Southern Star Central said it got a late start on the construction of the lateral.

The Owensboro, KY-based pipeline last week proposed a new start-up date of Sept. 12 of this year, which the Commission accepted.

The proposed 16-mile, 20-inch diameter lateral would extend from the pipeline’s Southern Trunk 20-inch Loop Line in Cherokee County, KS, to Jasper County, MO, where it would tie in with an existing 16-inch diameter lateral serving Empire District Electric’s Co.’s State Line power plant. Southern Star Central also plans to install piping upgrades at its Saginaw compressor station in Newton County, MO.

Empire District Electric has entered into a 15-year contract for 63,800 Dth/d of the lateral’s total capacity of 66,800 Dth/d, and Kansas Gas Service has subscribed to the remaining 3,000 Dth/d of capacity.

Southern Star Central is a unit of AIG Highstar Capital LP. Its natural gas pipeline system spans over 6,000 miles in the Midwest and Midcontinent regions of the nation.

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