The two major interstate natural gas pipelines serving hurricane-ravaged Florida — Florida Gas Transmission (FGT) and Gulfstream Natural Gas System — reported they survived Charley with nary a scratch, but that their gas deliveries into the Sunshine State were down due to the number of their customers (power generation plants) that were off-line.

FGT spokeswoman Gina Taylor estimated that deliveries of the pipeline, which is jointly owned by El Paso Corp. and CrossCountry Energy, have fallen to 1.99 Bcf/d from normal deliveries of 2-2.1 Bcf/d due to the inability of downed power plants to take their loads.

There also has been a drop in natural gas demand from customers on the Gulfstream system, according to spokesman Danny Gibbs. He said on an average day Gulfstream moves 500 MMcf/d into Florida, but that it was delivering about 100 MMcf/d less because at least two power plants served by Gulfstream were down.

Key transportation customers of Gulfstream are Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy Florida, which have said restoration efforts following Hurricane Charley could take up to a week. Gulfstream is jointly owned by Williams and Duke Energy.

Gibbs said Gulfstream Natural Gas is reminding affected power facilities that balancing of gas receipts and deliveries is critical, meaning that they should not put any more gas into the pipeline than they can take out on a typical day.

If Florida gas demand continues to be affected, this could potentially result in the shut-in of some gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. Both FGT and Gulfstream transport gas from the Gulf.

Gibbs said Gulfstream’s construction of a 110-mile mainline pipeline to extend the pipe’s reach from Central Florida to the state’s east coast was unaffected by the hurricane. “We came through in really good shape.”

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