Appeals

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has remanded an orderapproving the El Paso Natural Gas rate settlement for furtherreview, citing as its reason FERC’s refusal to give SouthernCalifornia Edison (Edison) the opportunity to challenge theagreement based on its status as an indirect customer of thepipeline.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday remanded a case inwhich industrial and LDC customers challenged a FERC-approvedmethod for compensating customers that are curtailed beyond theirpro rata share on Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco). “This was avery good result for us,” said an attorney for one of thepetitioners.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday remanded a case inwhich industrial and LDC customers challenged a FERC-approvedmethod for compensating customers that are curtailed beyond theirpro rata share on Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco). “This was avery good result for us,” said an attorney for one of thepetitioners.

Ruling that the case was not ripe for review yet, the D.C.Circuit Court of Appeals has denied challenges to FERC’s policystatement and subsequent orders that gave interstate gas pipelinespermission to enter into negotiated rates with their customers.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals remanded an order in whichFERC denied Iroquois Gas Transmission System L.P the recovery oflegal costs stemming from the criminal and civil investigationsinto environmental violations associated with the construction ofpipeline facilities in the early 1990s.

The Texas Supreme Court let stand an appeals court decision thatreversed a $204 million damage award against a subsidiary ofMitchell Energy & Development Corp. in the 1996 “Bartlett” casein which plaintiffs alleged the company contaminated water wells inWise County, TX. “Friday’s announcement by the Texas Supreme Court,and recent decisions at the district court level, are significantvictories because these cases clearly establish the fact thatMitchell is not the cause of any water quality problems in NorthTexas,” said Tom Battle, Mitchell general counsel.

Atlanta Gas Light Services has vowed to fight a decision by aGeorgia Public Service Commission hearing officer that wouldprohibit the company from using the name of its utility affiliate,Atlanta Gas Light. The marketing affiliate filed an appeal June 26,contending the initial decision, if upheld, would “reducecompetition in direct violation of the statutory purposes of the[Georgia] Natural Gas Act” when the deregulated market opens thisfall.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld two orders inwhich FERC denied a small-customer discount transportation rate toNephi, UT, a municipal distribution customer on Questar Pipeline.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Tuesday remanded tothe FERC the Commission’s ruling that interstate pipelines must getprior approval before leasing capacity on other pipelines. Thedecision came at the behest of Coastal affiliates ColoradoInterstate Gas and ANR Pipeline in their petition for rehearing ofa 1996 ruling from a Texas Eastern Transmission case. The Coastalaffiliates maintain the preclearance requirement burdens them witha competitive disadvantage.