Westcoast Energy, Cascade Natural Gas Corp. and Puget SoundEnergy (PSE) may build the Orca Natural Gas Pipeline (ONGP) toserve Northwest Washington consumers. Westcoast is leading theproject evaluation and development for the three companies.

The ONGP project is still in the preliminary design stages andwill be developed in broad consultation with local communities andgovernment officials, Westcoast said. It is currently targeted tobe in service by late 2004. The pipeline is anticipated to be 140miles long, including potential laterals to Whidbey Island, and theOlympic, Quimper and Kitsap Peninsulas, areas not currently servedby natural gas. The capacity of the new line will be determined byprojected market demand for natural gas in the region.

Lizette Parsons, a Westcoast spokeswoman, said that it is tooearly for capacity estimates. “We’ve announced the project in sucha preliminary stage where we honestly don’t know how much gas willflow. We made the announcement now to create a forum of openconsultation, which we welcome.”

Westcoast said the new project is in response to the growingdemand for gas in Northwest, WA, where the population has grown7.5% in the past five years. The proposed ONGP would transportnatural gas from Sumas, WA, at the Canada-U.S. border, to new andexisting markets in Northwest Washington. It would also add a newlink to the North American interconnected natural gas pipelinegrid.

“The development of this project is consistent with Westcoast’sobjective of increasing our activities in the Pacific Northwestwhere we already have a significant market and asset presence,”said Michael Phelps, CEO of Westcoast.

“The Orca Natural Gas Pipeline project can add versatility anddiversity to PSE’s natural gas supply portfolio while reducingcosts to our customers. It can also allow PSE to better serve itselectric customers by delivering fuel to natural gas-firedgeneration projects more cost-effectively,” said Bill Gaines, vicepresident, energy supply of Puget Sound Energy.

The companies plan to evaluate two general corridors for thepipeline. One alignment would roughly follow the Interstate 5corridor south to Everett and include an extension across PugetSound to Port Townsend. The other would be a mostly offshoreunderwater route south from Whatcom County to Port Townsend. Bothscenarios could also provide service to Whidbey Island.

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