Gets

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has given Sierra Pacific Powerand Nevada Power – the two largest providers of electricity andnatural gas in Nevada – a clean bill of health on the antitrustaspects of their proposed merger. The DOJ action came in the wakeof FERC’s approval of the $4 billion transaction last Wednesday.

Viking Gas Transmission got some good news last week when FERCapproved a looping expansion of its system that will make itpossible for existing customers between the northern Minnesotaborder and West-Central Wisconsin to receive up to 28,000 Dth/d ofadditional gas supplies by the end of the year.

Viking Gas Transmission got some good news Wednesday as FERCapproved a looping expansion of its system that will make itpossible for existing customers between the northern Minnesotaborder and West-Central Wisconsin to receive up to 28,000 Dth/d ofadditional gas supplies by the end of the year.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has granted finalenvironmental approval to the U.S. portion of Vector Pipeline,moving it within one step of receiving certification. TheCommission’s action comes in the wake of the National EnergyBoard’s final approval of the Canadian leg of the project.

FERC earlier this week gave Williams Gas Pipelines Central onemore chance to settle the lingering, controversial cost-recoveryissues arising from the reformation of three of its gas supplycontracts for production in Colorado.

FERC last week gave Williams Gas Pipelines Central Inc. one morechance to settle the lingering, controversial cost-recovery issuesarising from the reformation of three of its contracts for gassupply in Colorado.

While just a smidgen of its project would be in Canada, Vectorstill needed – and got yesterday – approval from Canada’s NationalEnergy Board (NEB). “This is a significant milestone and supportsVector’s status as the most advanced project to meet increasingdemand for natural gas for markets east of Chicago,” said VectorVice President Juri Otsason. Vector expects to receive finalcertification from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)in the second quarter, which will represent the final step inregulatory approvals.

CMS Energy settled charges from the Federal Trade CommissionFriday that its acquisition of Panhandle Eastern and TrunklinePipeline limited competition for natural gas in 54 counties inMichigan. The settlement allows CMS to close the deal basicallyunchanged, but it did delay the closing by many weeks, a CMSofficial said.

FERC last week gave Petal Gas Storage the go-ahead to double thecertificated capacity of its storage facilities in Mississippi to10.4 Bcf. Petal Gas would accomplish this by drilling, leaching anddeveloping a second underground salt dome storage cavern identicalto its existing cavern. The proposed storage cavern would have thesame certificated capacity as the existing cavern (5.2 Bcf), andboth would have a combined actual working gas capacity of 5.8 Bcf.