ferc

Portland Natural Gas Transmission System (PNGTS) told the FERCCentral Maine Power Co. (CMP) is off base in its argument againstsiting of construction activity for PNGTS’ Rumford-Jay lateral pipealong a CMP power line corridor. CMP is seeking a stay order fromthe Commission.

Chief Administrative Law Judge Curtis L. Wagner last weekcertified to FERC for its approval the Gas Research Institute (GRI)funding settlement that sets the stage for its seven-year journeyto become a voluntary-funded organization.

Energy guru and Pulitzer-prize winning author Daniel Yergin toldFederal Energy Regulatory Commission staffers there will still be aplace for the agency in the next millennium despite the fact themarketplace is taking “The Commanding Heights” away fromgovernments.

Viking Voyageur Gas Transmission called on FERC to dismiss ANRPipeline’s latest attacks on its project, saying they were”thinly-veiled” efforts to prevent, or “at least delay for as longas possible,” construction of a pipeline project that would bringsorely-needed competition into ANR’s Wisconsin market area.Voyageur, which would import Canadian gas into several Midwestmarkets, “is a significant threat to ANR’s market dominance inWisconsin. As a result, ANR has made every possible effort tothwart the Commission’s pro-competitive policies by delayingVoyageur’s project,” the proposed pipeline said in comments at theCommission [CP98-65].

The way FERC figures pass-through of costs in oil pipeline ratecases could hamper future use of converted lines, according toCommissioner Linda T. Key Breathitt, who issued dissenting opinionsin two oil pipeline cases involving Rio Grande and LonghornPartners Pipelines [OR97-1-001 and OR95-7]. In both cases theCommission ruled that the companies would not be allowed to passthrough the full purchase price of the pipelines, only thedepreciated original cost of the line. “In an area where Congresshas asked us to exercise regulatory restraint we turn around andapply textbook principles in a manner that may discourage futureconversions of oil pipelines to new uses,” Breathitt said. Theorders examine the corporate relationships between the companies toarrive at the conclusion that the companies are selling assets tothemselves. But Breathitt believes arguments about corporate tiesin these cases don’t apply. She was joined by Commissioner CurtHebert.