Regulatory

A San Diego congressman, Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), said Wednesday that he has written the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking for a rehearing of the commission’s earlier decision to approve the North Baja natural gas pipeline. Filner said new electric generation plants that the pipe is designed to serve on the Mexican side of the international border will substantially increase air pollution.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from enforcing its open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, ruling that the agency far exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it took this action nearly two years ago.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Wednesday voted to approve the proposed North Baja Pipeline, which will deliver 500 MMcf/d of natural gas from a connection with El Paso Natural Gas near Ehrenberg, AZ, to gas distribution systems and new power plants in northern Mexico and Southern California.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has enjoined the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from enforcing its open-ended reporting requirement on natural gas pipelines operating offshore, ruling that the agency far exceeded its authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it took this action nearly two years ago.

Kansas City, MO-based UtiliCorp United Inc. last week asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization “as soon as practicable” to re-acquire the nearly 20% interest in its natural gas and power marketer, Aquila Inc., that it sold to the public earlier in the year. Upon the completion of the transaction, the company plans to adopt Aquila as its corporate name possibly as early as the first quarter of 2002.

Kansas Gas Service, a division of Oneok, has filed a formal complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission against Enbridge Pipelines, owner of KPC, an interstate pipeline successor to a Kansas general partnership including Kansas Pipeline Partnership, Riverside Pipeline Partnership LP. and KansOk Partnership, charging a continued violation of service agreements dating back to 1995.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, denying a citizen group’s request for a subpoena, has itself ordered Consolidated Edison and KeySpan Energy to provide detailed information, including maps and engineering work papers supporting the companies’ requirement that the proposed Millennium Pipeline connect with ConEd in Mount Vernon, NY.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co., a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., said Tuesday that it has accepted the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) certificate authorizing construction of the Dracut Expansion project. The $35 million project will replace approximately 12 miles of existing 16-inch natural gas pipeline with a 24-inch line from Dracut to Burlington, MA, primarily using existing rights-of-way. The project will increase takeaway capacity from the Dracut interconnect by 200,000 Dth/d. Once the project is in service, the total takeaway capacity from Dracut will be more than 600,000 Dth/d. Tennessee said it expects the Dracut Expansion to be available for commercial service in the fall of this year. “The Dracut Expansion represents the next logical step in expansions from Dracut to serve the Northeast energy corridor,” said Stephen C. Beasley, Tennessee president. “Tennessee initiated the growth by completing the Eastern Express 2000 project in January 2000 and placed the Londonderry pipeline in service in September 2001. Tennessee is pleased to provide additional, reliable service by substantially increasing our capacity from Dracut with this expansion. The use of existing corridors allows Tennessee to minimize the environmental impact while delivering an economic project.”

In what was a major blow for El Paso Corp. last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted the request of the Office of General Counsel’s Market Oversight and Enforcement Section (MOE) for an inquiry into whether El Paso Natural Gas withheld transportation capacity from customers last winter in an attempt to drive up prices for natural gas delivered to the Southern California border.