Affects

ANR has increased Patterson-to-Eunice delivery capacity in South Louisiana to 650,000 Dth/d, available through Feb. 28. Due to insufficient supply upstream of the Patterson Compressor Station, which affects ANR’s ability to properly load compression, interconnects between Patterson and the Eunice Compressor Station may experience lower than normal line pressures. Based on current nominations, it is anticipated that the reduction will result in the curtailment of IT nominations.

A FERC judge’s ruling in an El Paso Natural Gas complaint proceeding last month raises questions about the basis for the Commission’s action in ordering full-requirements (FR) shippers on the El Paso system to convert to contract-demand (CD) service next March, two large FR customers said. They asked FERC for a rehearing on the conversion order in light of the judge’s ruling.

A FERC judge’s ruling in an El Paso Natural Gas complaint proceeding last month raises questions about the basis for the Commission’s action in ordering full-requirements (FR) shippers on the El Paso system to convert to contract-demand (CD) service next March, two large FR customers said. They asked FERC for a rehearing on the conversion order in light of the judge’s ruling.

Saying its storage pools are full and customers are overdelivering gas into its system, Dominion has implemented an OFO to protect its system integrity. The order affects all customers under Rate Schedules FT, FTNN, IT and MCS.

Acknowledging that a combination of unexpected generator outagesand sustained hot weather could create the threat of power outagesthis summer, the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO)launched a new alert system for gaining enough voluntaryconservation by businesses and mass consumers to ride out thepeak-demand periods. Calling it “Power Watch 2000,” Cal-ISOPresident/CEO Terry Winter said he anticipates that both short- andlong-term the state can use market-based programs to addresspotential shortfalls.

Northern Natural Gas took its Plains Turbine down Monday forabout three weeks of unplanned repairs. The outage affects 100,000MMbtu/d at nine points on the Hobbs System in southeastern NewMexico.

Transwestern’s Bloomfield Compressor Station was hit bylightening at about 9 p.m. Sunday. The station is down, and damageis being evaluated. The outage affects 150,000 MMBtu/d.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) has delayed the startdate for retail gas unbundling in the state from Oct. 1, 1999 toJune 1, 2001. Retail unbundling affects gas utilities serving morethan 25,000 customers. The commission order delaying unbundlingalso allows groups wanting to propose competitive purchase programsat earlier dates to submit their proposals for commissionconsideration.

In another case the FERC is going to have to defend its policyof not requiring pipelines to flow through penalty revenues, theU.S. Court of Appeals ruled Friday in remanding a case involvingNorAm Gas Transmission (No. 97-1607). The 2-1 decision in Amoco v.FERC, with Judge Randolph concurring in part and dissenting inpart, did not object to NorAm’s raising penalty rates, but it doesask for an explanation of why the Commission believes penaltyrevenues will be so insignificant as to warrant no consideration.In the year prior to NorAm’s rate filing the pipeline had collected$1.8 million in penalty revenue. The court noted FERC appeared tobelieve that because penalty rates were raised, the incidence ofpenalties would decrease. But “even if a lesser number of penaltiesare imposed, the increased penalty rate might result in a grossincrease in penalty revenue. Moreover – and this is the keyimponderable – whether a shipper will be willing to incur thepenalty depends on his cost in securing alternative supplies in atight market.”