Nears

Northwest Pipeline has asked FERC for the green light to put in service the southern 15.5 miles of the final pipeline loop (Muddy Creek Loop) of its Rockies expansion project. The pipeline said it was unable at this time to seek operation for the entire 30-mile loop because testing had revealed a number of cracked welds on the line.

Calgary-based but U.S.-traded Energy Exploration Technologies (NXT) said late Monday that it has acquired a 33.33% working interest in 1,094 hectares (four gas spacing units) of Crown lands in the Tenaka area in northeast British Columbia.

As part of its strategic plan to focus its business on core competencies, NiSource Inc. has completed the sale of its telecommunications subsidiary, Columbia Transmission Communications Corp. (Transcom), to NEON Communications Inc., a provider of advanced optical network services in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

As part of its strategic plan to focus its business on core competencies, NiSource Inc. has completed the sale of its telecommunications subsidiary, Columbia Transmission Communications Corp. (Transcom), to NEON Communications Inc., a provider of advanced optical network services in the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.

Southern Natural Gas last week sought FERC clearance to begin delivering natural gas over new pipeline looping facilities on Sept. 1 to meet the expanding demand of industrial and power generation customers in the Southeast.

California energy stakeholders are sounding various levels of alarm as summer nears with both natural gas supply and prices uncertain at best in a state that is highly reliant on the fuel for its electricity generating plants, large industrial loads and home heating needs. A typical homeowner in Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s territory in the northern half of the state is paying $3/month more for gas right now, a utility spokesperson said.

California energy stakeholders are sounding various levels of alarm as summer nears with both natural gas supply and prices uncertain at best in a state that is highly reliant on the fuel for its electricity generating plants, large industrial loads and home heating needs. A typical homeowner in Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s territory in the northern half of the state is paying $3/month more for gas right now, a utility spokesperson said.

El Paso said it is finally nearing completion of the All American oil pipeline conversion and its integration into the southern pipeline system. All American was bought by El Paso from Plains All American Pipeline LP in February 2000 (see Daily GPI, Feb. 4, 2000 ). The pipe segment extends 1,088 miles from McCamey, TX, to Emidio, CA, and will boost system flexibility by adding 230 MMcf/d of capacity this year on the southern system from the Permian Basin in West Texas to markets in Arizona and California.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is putting the finishing touches on a national transmission grid study that, among other things, recognizes improved regional planning as a tool for removing transmission bottlenecks, Vicky Bailey, assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs at the DOE, told a gathering of electric utility executives last Wednesday at a transmission summit in Washington, DC.