Regulators

After much nudging from the courts, state regulators andindustry, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last weekconceded defeat in its battle to justify jurisdiction over a smalllateral in Colorado.

After much nudging from the courts, state regulators andindustry, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last weekconceded defeat in its battle to justify jurisdiction over a smalllateral in Colorado.

State regulators yesterday called on the Department ofTransportation (DOT) to put a hold on any proposed changes to aprogram that gives states authority to act as agents of the federalgovernment to conduct safety inspections of interstate pipelines intheir respective states.

California regulators Thursday released a final environmentalimpact report for the state’s second merchant underground naturalgas storage project in the Sacramento Valley of northernCalifornia. Absent new opposition from surrounding landowners,Texas-based Western Hub Properties hopes to have its $80 millionstorage project operating by the end of this year, following ayear’s delay in the approval process for environmental review.

California regulators last week released a final environmentalimpact report for the state’s second merchant underground naturalgas storage project in the Sacramento Valley of northernCalifornia. Absent new opposition from surrounding landowners,Texas-based Western Hub Properties hopes to have its $80 millionstorage project operating by the end of this year, following ayear’s delay in the approval process for environmental review.

California regulators gave San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. andits partner, San Francisco-based Bechtel Enterprises, the okay tobuild a $450 million, 880 MW natural gas-fired power plant, theDelta Energy Center, near the Dow Chemical facility in Pittsburg,CA, an industrial town in the East San Francisco Bay area.Construction is expected to get under way this summer, bringing tothree the number of merchant plants approved by Californiaauthorities, all involving Calpine.

If regulators wanted further proof of need for additionalpipeline capacity to the Northeast, Independence Pipeline andTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line said they got it last month whendelivered prices in some markets shot up to nearly $20 per Dth.(See NGI, Jan. 24) Citing the January deliverability problem, thetwo pipelines separately asked FERC to deny the requests for a stayof the interim order conditionally approving their Northeastprojects.

If regulators wanted further proof of need for additionalpipeline capacity to the Northeast, Independence Pipeline andTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line said they got it last month whendelivered prices in some markets shot up to nearly $20Dth. Citingthe January deliverability shortage, the two pipelines separatelyasked FERC to deny the requests for a stay of the interim orderconditionally approving their Northeast projects.

Fearing an end to pipeline competition in California, thestate’s regulators and Indicated Shippers have called on FERC tosummarily reject the three transportation agreements by which EnronNorth America Corp. has contracted for 1.25 Bcf/d of unsubscribedfirm capacity on El Paso Natural Gas.