Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Williams Northwest Pipeline (WNP) announced Friday afternoon that they have reached an agreement for WNP to construct a pipeline expansion project to increase the reliability of the utility’s natural gas system in Snohomish County, WA.

Known as the Everett Delta Project, the pipeline is expected to help PSE meet the demand for natural gas in the county’s high-growth region.

“This project will significantly increase the reliability of natural gas delivery available to Snohomish County’s residents and businesses, particularly on cold days,” said Sue McLain, senior vice president of operations for PSE. “Through our transaction with Northwest, with whom we have been planning a Snohomish County project for the past three years, we will have a more reliable natural gas system with the capability to serve additional load to accommodate the region’s peak day demand and on-going baseload growth.”

Under the current proposal, the project would consist of approximately 9 miles of 16-inch diameter pipeline in western Snohomish County, connecting with WNP’s existing pipeline near Lake Stevens, WA and then extending south and west to an interconnect with PSE near the Port of Everett. PSE said the pipeline will reinforce the north portion of its natural gas service territory, serving Everett and surrounding areas

This summer WNP, a unit of Williams, will ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to amend the certificate and authorization originally granted for the Everett Delta Project in October 2001 to reflect, among other considerations, a reduction in the size and capacity of the new pipeline as a result of the slowdown in the merchant power marketplace.

“The Everett Delta Project remains a necessary means for bringing additional supplies of natural gas to utility customers in western Washington,” said Allison Bridges, vice president of commercial operations for WNP. “We were pleased when Puget Sound Energy approached us about the utility’s continuing need to improve system reliability in Snohomish County.”

Construction on the pipeline is slated to begin in the summer of 2004 and is targeted to be in service by November 2004.

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