Commission

A week after receiving Federal Energy Regulatory Commission(FERC) approval of the first phase of its Wisconsin 2000 ExpansionProject, Coastal’s ANR Pipeline announced plans to continueexpanding its pipeline given sufficient market demand.

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky Thursdayoutlined some factors the FTC considers in determining whether andto what extent restructuring can save an otherwise anticompetitivemerger proposal. In remarks at the Cutting Edge AntitrustConference of Law Seminars International in New York City hestressed the need for transparency on behalf of federal regulatorsas restructuring proposals become more complex.

The Public Service Commission of Georgia (PSC) will vote thisweek on how to dispense the more than $30 million owed by AtlantaGas Light (AGL) to its customers. The utility accrued the extrafunds by over-collecting on the purchased gas cost section of thebill.

Central and South West Corp. of Dallas filed with the PublicUtility Commission of Texas (PUCT) its business separation planrequired by Texas Senate Bill 7 on Electric Restructuring. The plandescribes the approach proposed by CSW to unbundle the activitiesof each of its Texas electric operating companies into threeentities. While the plan is directed to meet the requirements ofthe Texas restructuring legislation, the separation plan shouldalso meet restructuring requirements anticipated in Arkansas,Louisiana and Oklahoma, the company said.

The CEO of LG&E Energy Corp. blasted a Kentucky PublicService Commission order for an LG&E and KU reduction inpre-tax earnings totaling $63 million per year. Roger W. Hale saidthe reduction represents more than 20% of the utilities’ income.

Making good on a promise made to the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) in order to close its merger with Sonat, El Paso Energyannounced the sale of the East Tennessee Natural Gas Co. to DukeEnergy Gas Transmission for $386.3 million in stock yesterday. Thetransaction is expected to close in the first quarter subject toFTC consent.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said that at its nextmeeting Jan. 12 it will consider a final rule on the proposedchanges to its regulations governing short-term natural gastransportation services and interruptible transportation (DocketsRM98-10 and RM98-12).

Texas stands to play a larger role in meeting the nation’sdemand for natural gas, according to one member of the TexasRailroad Commission. After reviewing a report by the NationalPetroleum Council titled “Meeting the Challenges of the Nation’sGrowing Natural Gas Demand,” TRC Commissioner Tony Garza said hesaw opportunities for the state.

CMP Natural Gas (CMPNG) got less than it hoped for out of a recent Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decision which allowed the LDC to serve both a 540 MW power plant in Westbrook, ME, and an electric municipality in Gorham ME, but not general customers in Westbrook. The decision was passed down earlier this month. CMPNG is a joint venture between Energy East and Central Maine Power Group.