Regulatory

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week awarded ANRPipeline a certificate to build a scaled-back expansion of itsmainline system between the Joliet, IL, hub and the market areas insouthwestern Wisconsin.

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.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission yesterday awarded ANRPipeline a certificate to build a scaled-back expansion of itsmainline system between the Joliet, IL, hub and the market areas insouthwestern Wisconsin.

Seeking convergence in its certificate policy, the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission proposed phasing out its 15-year oldoptional expedited certificate, saying “expedited” is now amisnomer and all pipeline certificates should be required to passunder the “public convenience and necessity” bar.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last weekapproved construction of a proposed 60-mile, 130 MMcf/d pipelinelateral off El Paso’s mainline in Arizona to proposed Mexicanborder crossing facilities. The proposed $30 million pipe andborder crossing facilities are designed to serve several existingand proposed gas-fired power plants in Sonora.

Seeking convergence in its certificate policy, the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission has proposed phasing out its 15-yearold optional expedited certificate, saying “expedited” is now amisnomer and all pipeline certificates should be required to passunder the “public convenience and necessity” bar.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approvedconstruction of a proposed 60-mile, 130 MMcf/d pipeline lateral offEl Paso’s mainline in Arizona to proposed Mexican border crossingfacilities. The proposed $30 million pipe and border crossingfacilities are designed to serve several existing and proposedgas-fired power plants in Sonora.

California’s regulatory process for adding merchant power plantsand repowering existing merchant sites is likely to get morecomplicated and time-consuming, based on discussions at a Jan. 25one-day energy roundtable on market and infrastructure issuessponsored by the California Public Utilities Commission in SanDiego.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week proposedreinstating its authority to make well determinations so thatqualified producers can obtain Section 29 tax credits for high-costgas wells that were drilled prior to 1993.