Distribution

Iowa regulators have approved a natural gas rate increase of $3.4 million, or 2.1%, for North Dakota-based Black Hills Corp.’s gas distribution utility operations in the state. The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) approved a settlement submitted in January by Black Hills’ Iowa Gas Utility Co., which originally filed with the IUB for a $4.7 million, or 2.9%, increase last June. The settlement-based increase will average about $1.80 more monthly for residential customers and $1.50 more each month for commercial customers.

Less than a month after receiving a 3 MW order from a large independent oil and gas company for deployment in the producer’s acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas, Capstone Turbine Corp. said Thursday it has received a follow-on order from the same undisclosed company for six more C1000 Power Packages, accounting for an additional 6 MW.

Las Vegas, NV-based local distribution company (LDC) Southwest Gas Corp. is sitting pretty this winter and for the foreseeable future in terms of adequate natural gas supplies. The gas-only utility’s three-state service area divides into three regions, each with a different set of supply basins, and the shale gas boom affects two of those operating areas.

Las Vegas, NV-based local distribution company (LDC) Southwest Gas Corp. is sitting pretty this winter and for the foreseeable future in terms of adequate natural gas supplies. The gas-only utility’s three-state service area divides into three regions, each with a different set of supply basins, and the shale gas boom affects two of those operating areas.

Iberdrola USA Inc., a unit of Spain’s Iberdrola SA, has completed the sale of two natural gas distribution companies in Connecticut and one in Massachusetts to UIL Holdings Corp. in a deal valued at about $1.25 billion after adjustments. The sale involves Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., The Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and The Berkshire Gas Co. The companies distribute approximately 56.5 Bcf gas per year to nearly 369,000 customers in Connecticut and Massachusetts, and have a combined workforce of about 800. The deal was announced last May (see Daily GPI, May 26).

Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. is holding a binding open season through 2 p.m. EST Nov. 15 for firm gas storage service at its Tecumseh Gas Storage facility near Dawn in southwestern Ontario.

In a case involving an arcane issue for natural gas distribution utilities, a California appeals court has reversed a $12 million jury award in a lower court lawsuit by two plaintiffs against Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas). The utility had appealed the 2005 verdict.

In a case involving an arcane issue for natural gas distribution utilities, a California appeals court last Thursday reversed a $12 million jury award in a lower court lawsuit by two plaintiffs against Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas). The utility had appealed the 2005 verdict.

The FERC order (Order 720) requiring many intrastate pipelines, storage operators, local distribution companies and utilities to post natural gas flow and capacity data at the most significant parts within their systems is due to be implemented Oct. 1. This addition of intrastate information to existing market data will provide an “unprecedented and crucial level of visibility into natural gas market supply and demand dynamics across North America,” according to analysts at Evergreen, CO-based Bentek Energy, an energy market analytics firm.