Declares

Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC declared force majeure Friday — which means that it is unable to meet the contract demand of its 20 “or so” customers in New England — only days after the U.S. Coast Guard banned a tanker filled with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and destined for the company’s Everett, MA, terminal from entering Boston Harbor due to safety and security concerns, a FERC spokeswoman said.

In an effort to ease residential consumers’ deregulation growingpains, The Georgia Public Service Commission (GPSC) votedfive-to-none yesterday to approve an estimated $40 millionresidential refund plan, which would help ease what are sure to behigh gas bills this coming winter. The commission also voted toapprove a new sculptured tariff for distribution charges instead ofthe current flat rate by a vote of four-to-one, with CommissionerRobert Baker dissenting.

FERC last week clarified that the controversial “rate reductionmechanism” (RRM) in the capacity contract between Dynegy Marketingand Trade and El Paso Natural Gas is “not an unlawful practice orcontract” under the Natural Gas Act. Commissioner William Massey,however, issued a blistering attack not only against the RRM, butthe entire El Paso-Dynegy transaction.

FERC earlier this week clarified that the “rate reductionmechanism” (RRM) in the capacity contract between Dynegy Marketingand Trade and El Paso Natural Gas is “not an unlawful practice orcontract” under the Natural Gas Act. Commissioner William Massey,however, issued a blistering attack against the RRM and the entireEl Paso-Dynegy transaction.

The Palmetto Pipeline, a proposed joint venture between CarolinaPower & Light (CP&L) and Sonat, announced an open seasonMonday seeking interest from potential firm gas transportationservice customers for terms of at least 20 years. The open seasonbegan April 1 and will continue through May 31.