Federal

CMS Energy settled Federal Trade Commission charges on Fridaythat threaten to hold up its acquisition of Panhandle Eastern andTrunkline Pipeline from Duke Energy. The FTC charged the purchasewould limit pipeline competition in 54 counties in Michigan. Thesettlement allows CMS to close the deal basically unchanged, but itdid delay the closing by many weeks, a CMS official said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to go onthe record this Wednesday with thoughts, but not votes, on thecompeting Independence and Millennium pipeline projects which arevying to be the last link in the new path for western Canadian gasdelivered to the U.S. Northeast.

ScottishPower and PacifiCorp jointly announced that their Dec.7, 1998 merger plan gained a large boost Tuesday when the FederalTrade Commission (FTC) waived the 30-day waiting period under theHart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.

British Petroleum (BP) and Amoco Corp. said they will completetheir merger today after receiving Federal Trade Commission (FTC)approval yesterday for the $57 billion deal. To win FTC approval,the companies agreed to free up more than 1,600 gas stations in 30southeastern and midwestern markets and to divest nine petroleumterminals. The 4-0 vote in favor of the merger becomes final aftera 60-day comment period.

Elizabeth Anne “Betsy” Moler, former deputy secretary of theU.S. Department of Energy and chair of the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission,is leaving the public sector for privatepractice at a major law firm.

In another case the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission isgoing to have to defend its policy of not requiring pipelines toflow through penalty revenues, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruledFriday in remanding a case involving NorAm Gas Transmission (No.97-1607). The 2-1 decision in Amoco v. FERC, with Judge Randolphconcurring in part and dissenting in part, did not object toNorAm’s raising penalty rates, but it does ask for an explanationof why the Commission believes penalty revenues will be soinsignificant as to warrant no consideration. In the year prior toNorAm’s rate filing the pipeline had collected $1.8 million inpenalty revenue. The court noted FERC appeared to believe thatbecause penalty rates were raised, the incidence of penalties woulddecrease. But “even if a lesser number of penalties are imposed,the increased penalty rate might result in a gross increase inpenalty revenue. Moreover – and this is the key imponderable -whether a shipper will be willing to incur the penalty depends onhis cost in securing alternative supplies in a tight market.”

Amoco’s objections and its standing as a major customer ofTrailblazer Pipeline have made it impossible for the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to approve a settlement on new rates, FERCsaid in dumping the dilemma back in the lap of an administrativelaw judge.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline recently filed an applicationwith the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct,own and operate a 1.1-mile, 12-inch diameter lateral pipeline toprovide gas service to the Maine Independence Station, currentlyunder construction in Veazie, ME. The Maine Independence Station isDuke Energy Power Services’ 520 MW gas-fueled generating station.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a proposed consent orderrequiring Shell Oil subsidiaries Tejas Energy and Transok to divest171 miles of the 690 miles of natural gas gathering lines recentlyacquired from Coastal Corp. subsidiaries in Oklahoma and the TexasPanhandle.