The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday gave final approval to Florida Gas Transmission Co.’s (FGT) Phase VI expansion, which will add 85,356 Dth/d of capacity and 33 miles of pipeline to meet increasing demand mainly from gas-fired power generators in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida.

The $105 million expansion will begin service in June 2003 and is supported by long-term contracts with the Orlando Utility Commission, Reliant Energy, the City of Leesburg and South Florida Natural Gas.

Meanwhile, FGT’s Phase V Expansion project, which was approved by FERC last summer, went into service in April, providing an additional 306 MMcf/d of capacity to meet growing electricity demand in Florida. It added 166 miles of 16-inch to 36-inch diameter mainline looping and laterals, additional compression totaling 132,615 hp and various other facilities in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. In total, the Phase VI and V expansion projects will expand the FGT system to more than 2 Bcf/d by late 2003.

FGT’s new competitor, Gulfstream Natural Gas, began transporting gas earlier this month on the first 560-mile portion of its system. It opened an interconnection with FGT June 7. The new 1.1 Bcf/d pipeline carries gas from Mississippi and Alabama across the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Peninsula. A second phase of the Gulfstream project will include an additional 150 miles of pipeline from central Florida to the southeastern corner of the state. Phase two is expected to begin service in the summer of 2003.

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