Approve

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has made an unusual filing at FERC, calling on the Commission to review and approve or reject the proposed Constitution Pipeline because there already are a number of competing pipeline projects to carry Marcellus Shale gas to New York.

Natural gas and electric utility bills will decrease in the fourth quarter for Xcel Energy’s Colorado customers, assuming state regulators approve the combination utility’s proposed new rates, effective Oct. 1. Xcel asked the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to OK monthly gas utility bills going down by an average of $6.15 for residential customers and $23.16 for small businesses. Commodity prices for the two customer groups will be 44.19 cents/therm and 43.84 cents/therm, respectively, compared to rates of 52.11 cents/therm and 52.33 cents/therm in 4Q2011. For electric customers, monthly bills are expected to drop for residential ($3.21) and small business ($26.79).

FERC should approve a request by Trunkline Gas Co. to abandon by sale 770 miles of its gas transmission system for conversion to crude oil service over the objection of protesters whose “doomsday scenarios [are] designed to lock in the status quo, despite ample demonstration that the status quo is not consistent with the overall public interest,” the pipeline told the Commission in a filing Friday.

U.S. regulators should approve applications to export liquefied domestic natural gas, but they should let markets decide whether and to what extent exports happen, a Council on Foreign Relations researcher asserts in an upcoming paper. Exports will have drawbacks, but these can be mitigated and will be outweighed by benefits of export, council Senior Fellow Michael Levi told reporters last Wednesday.

U.S. regulators should approve applications to export liquefied domestic natural gas, but they should let markets decide whether and to what extent exports happen, a Council on Foreign Relations researcher asserts in an upcoming paper. Exports will have drawbacks, but these can be mitigated and will be outweighed by benefits of export, council Senior Fellow Michael Levi told reporters Wednesday.

Portland, OR-based NW Natural has accelerated a utility rate decrease for its distribution utility customers in Oregon and Washington, asking regulators in both states to approve rate decreases totaling $39 million. Separately last Friday, CEO Gregg Kantor also reported during a 1Q2012 earnings conference call that the company’s joint venture drilling program with a unit of Encana Corp. and a merchant gas storage project in California passed important milestones during the quarter.

A coalition of environmental groups is calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to take a new approach in their ongoing efforts to approve an impact fee on natural gas drilling in the state, either by starting the process over or dividing the omnibus legislation into four separate bills.

Empire Pipeline Inc. has asked FERC to approve its request by Oct. 28 to begin service on its Tioga County Extension to transport Marcellus Shale production in Pennsylvania to the U.S.-Canadian border [CP10-493].

The city of Morgantown, WV, made no moves to appeal to the state Supreme Court a judge’s ruling that struck down its ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It is instead considering its options to seek additional safety measures from Northeast Natural Energy (NNE).