Calls

FERC has called on staff to convene a technical conference toreview various options to “resolve the jurisdictional and policyissues” posed by the proposed TriState Pipeline project. TheCommission issued an order calling for the conference after itfailed to act last week on TriState’s request for “expeditedrehearing” of a May decision in which it shelved theChicago-to-Dawn Hub project as proposed and suggested other optionsfor the sponsors to pursue.

EnergySouth Inc., a holding company for utility and storagecompanies in the Southeast, recently announced an expansion planfor the storage facilities of its subsidiary Bay Gas Storage Co.The plan calls for an additional salt cavern to be developed, whichwill increase the total working gas capacity of the site from 2.4Bcf to 6 Bcf. An open season will be held from July 15 until Aug.31 to help assess the final size and shape of the expansion.

EnergySouth Inc., a holding company for utility and storagecompanies in the Southeast, announced an expansion plan Friday forthe storage facilities of its subsidiary Bay Gas Storage Co. Theplan calls for an additional salt cavern to be developed, whichwill increase the total working gas capacity of the site from 2.4Bcf to 6 Bcf. An open season will be held from July 15 until Aug.31 to help assess the final size and shape of the expansion.

On the heels of a spectacular discovery on its turf, Canada’sNorthwest Territories has tossed a red hot potato into the lap ofthe nation’s natural gas community. The government in Yellowknifeis calling on the National Energy Board to take control of the11,000-mile Nova pipeline grid’s tolls and development away fromthe Alberta government.

On the heels of a spectacular discovery on its turf, Canada’sNorthwest Territories has tossed a red hot potato into the lap ofthe nation’s natural gas community. The government in Yellowknifeis calling on the National Energy Board to take control of the11,000-mile Nova pipeline grid’s tolls and development away fromthe Alberta government.

The states’ practice of mandating the assignment of LDC-heldupstream capacity to marketers as an “express condition” toallowing them or their customers access to an unbundled natural gasmarketplace flies in the face of antitrust laws and FERC’s gasrestructuring rule, contends Enron Corp.’s marketing arm.

The staff of the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) gaveNorthwest Natural Gas (NWNG) quite a beating this week in a generalrate case. The staff recommended a revenue reduction of $19.9million per year from the gas utility’s operations in Oregon. NWNGhad requested a revenue increase of $14.7 million per year.

The only non-affiliated shipper that has signed up for firmtransportation service on the Maritimes &amp Northeast Pipelineproject clearly is regretting it now. Boston Gas told FERC lastweek a request by Maritimes in January to amend its pipelinecertificate, eliminate about 140 miles of laterals in Maine andraise its mainline rates 61% because of the loss of numerous U.S.markets shows a lapse in rationality.

The consumer advocacy part of the California Public UtilitiesCommission is trying to get state regulators to second guesswinning bids on the final natural gas-fired power plants PacificGas and Electric Co. auctioned last year. The auction resulted inSouthern Company being awarded three winning bids for plants in theSan Francisco Bay Area totaling 3,065 MW and using up to 50 MMcf/dof gas.