Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s Express 500 Project, which offers firmtransportation through the bottlenecked Gulf of Mexico supply area,won more than 1 Bcf/d of capacity requests from customers duringthe project’s first open season. “We believe that this level ofparticipation demonstrates the need for incremental capacity fromthe Gulf Coast,” said Tennessee President John Somerhalder II.Tennessee has targeted Mar. 31 as the deadline for signedagreements, with plans to file a 7(c ) certificate next November.To accommodate the firm load, Tennessee will expand capacity at keyreceipt points on the Tennessee 500 line: the South Pass (Fishhook)System, the Bluewater Header and East Leg, the Venice ProcessingPlant tailgate, and any other points on the 500 line requested byopen season participants.

More than 250 commercial gas customers in the District ofColumbia will soon have the opportunity to choose a gas supplierother than Washington Gas. The District of Columbia Public ServiceCommission (PSC) approved the company’s request to offer choice inthe District to large commercial customers who use at least 60,000therms/year and who do not maintain an alternate to gas service(60,000 therms is about 60 times what the average residentialheating customer uses annually.) Large interruptible customers whouse more than 250,000 therms annually have had supplier choicesince 1988. Under the guidelines of the DC program, eligiblecustomers may voluntarily buy gas from a third-party. Service maybegin any time after April 1. Washington Gas will provide customerswith a list of credit-qualified gas suppliers. The minimumenrollment period is one year.

Consumers Energy will expand its “Gas Customer Choice” retailprogram this April to 100,000 customers state-wide in Michigan,following a one-year pilot that allowed 500 customers in Bay Countyto pick another natural gas supplier. In all, 300,000 customerswill be given a choice of suppliers over the next three years. Sofar 14 marketing companies have indicated that they will vie forcustomers, says Consumers. They will be competing against a rate of$2.8364/Mcf to be offered by Consumers Energy, which will be frozenfor three years for all customers who stay on the system. Customerswho switch suppliers can either receive one consolidated bill fromConsumers for sales and transmission service, or separate billsfrom Consumers and the supplier.

The upstream Canadian portion of the Portland Natural GasTransmission Project – the PNGTS Extension, which will link theU.S. pipeline with TransCanada PipeLines via an extension of theTrans Quebec &amp Maritimes-received a favorable environmentalreview from Canada’s National Energy Board. The NEB concluded the132-mile extension is “not likely to cause significant adverseenvironmental effects, provided that the mitigative measuresidentified during the public hearing are implemented and enforced.”The NEB submitted its Comprehensive Study Report on the project tothe federal Minister of Environment and to the CanadianEnvironmental Assessment Agency. The pipeline will run fromLachenaie, PQ, to East Hereford, PQ, near the New Hampshire border,where it would connect with PNGTS, a 210 MMcf/d pipeline extendingto northern Massachusetts. The estimated cost of the project is$270 million with a planned in-service date of Nov. 1, 1998.Initial throughput is expected to be 152.2 MMcf/d at East Herefordand 34 MMcf/d at Waterloo.

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