Columbia

FERC on Thursday gave Columbia Gulf Transmission LLC the go-ahead to start up the 1 Bcf/d Rayne XPress Expansion Project, adding to the list of Appalachian natural gas takeaway expansions coming online in time for winter heating season.

FERC issued a favorable final environmental impact statement (EIS) Friday for TransCanada Corp.’s Mountaineer XPress and Gulf XPress expansion projects, a move likely to encourage producers hoping for more natural gas pipeline capacity out of the Appalachian Basin.

FERC issued a favorable environmental assessment (EA) Friday for Columbia Gas Transmission LLC’s proposed 1.3 million Dth/d WB XPress Project in Virginia and West Virginia.

FERC published a favorable draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) Monday for TransCanada Corp.’s Mountaineer XPress (MXP) and Gulf XPress (GXP) expansion projects, bringing more Appalachian Basin takeaway capacity one step closer to hitting the market.

Columbia Gas Transmission (TCO) is holding a non-binding open season to solicit interest in its Buckeye XPress Project, which would provide firm transportation service from Marcellus and Utica shale production areas in Ohio, Southwestern Pennsylvania and West Virginia to TCO’s IPP Pool and its existing Leach, KY, interconnection with Columbia Gulf Transmission.

The final environmental impact statements (EIS) for TransCanada Corp.’s Mountaineer XPress (MXP) and Gulf XPress (GXP) pipeline projects will be delayed three months, FERC said in a notice of revised schedule this week.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed withdrawal of a requirement that certain power plants (typically coal-fired) in Texas participate in the second phase of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs for annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The move “…is intended to address a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit remanding the CSAPR Phase 2 SO2 budget for Texas to the EPA for reconsideration,” the notice said.

TransCanada Corp. has delivered on a plan to sell its U.S. merchant power assets in the Northeast, announcing that it would earn $3.7 billion for the business to help pay for its acquisition of Columbia Pipeline Group Inc. (CPG). In another move aimed at driving growth, the company said it would retain its interests in a growing portfolio of Mexican natural gas pipeline assets.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has voted to reduce Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s revenue increase request, approving a settlement that would increase annual operating revenues by $35 million. Columbia filed its request earlier this year seeking a $55 million revenue increase to help fund upgrades of its underground distribution infrastructure and training for pipeline safety and regulatory compliance (see Daily GPI, March 23). The PUC said the approved settlement would increase an average residential customer’s bill from $77.33 to $83.05 per month, or by about 7%. Columbia provides natural gas service to roughly 421,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of 26 counties. Since 2007, the company has invested nearly $1.1 billion to modernize and expand its distribution system. The settlement also includes a program that provides alternative options to finance the costs of natural gas extension projects for large commercial and industrial customers.