The four major gas trade associations that make up the NaturalGas Council (NGC) and two other industry trade groups were expectedto ask FERC late Monday for a second extension of the deadline forindustry comments on the major notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR)and notice of inquiry (NOI) issued in July, industry sources said[RM98-10, RM98-12].

The request seeks a minimum three-month extension of the currentJan. 22nd deadline, with a possibility of another three months, aspokeswoman for the American Gas Association said. The delay isbeing sought to provide the associations with more time to conductan “industry-wide dialogue” of the NOPR- and NOI-related issues,and to propose an alternative to the Commission’s controversialauction initiative for short-term capacity.

Supporting the extension are the American Gas Association, theInterstate Natural Gas Association of America, the IndependentPetroleum Association of America, the Natural Gas SupplyAssociation, the Process Gas Consumers Group and the EdisonElectric Institute. The Big Four gas associations agreed to thethree-month extension at a meeting of the NGC in Denver, CO, lastweek.

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