A coalition of pipeline customers has called on the FederalEnergy Regulatory Commission to place greater focus on reformingthe existing ratemaking process, which it contends indulgesinterstate gas pipelines at the expense of their customers. Thepipelines wasted little time in delivering a counterpunch lastMonday.
Topic / NGI All News Access
SubscribeNGI All News Access
Articles from NGI All News Access
Industry Briefs
Reliant Energy Retail Group and Luby’s Restaurants LP of SanAntonio, TX, made a multi-year energy services agreement fornon-regulated Reliant Energy Solutions Inc. to develop andimplement a comprehensive energy management services program forall Luby’s locations in the United States.
NGPL: Auction Ruling May Rob it of Negotiated Benefits
Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America (NGPL) fears that corrective action ordered by FERC with respect to its auction practices, if construed improperly, could boomerang and potentially “nullify” the pipeline’s negotiated-rate authority and “aggravate” its decontracting problems.
Transportation Notes
CIG said Friday an OFO begun Nov. 11 (see Daily GPI, Nov. 11) and regarding FT imbalances andand limitations on storage injections would remain in effect throughthe weekend. Based on the latest weather forecasts, CIG anticipatesbeing able to lift the OFO Tuesday. A new bulletin board posting todaywill update the OFO status.
Large Northern-Enron Contract Concerns GPM
Phillips subsidiary GPM Gas Corp. and a number of other NorthernNatural shippers are befuddled by a complex negotiated ratetransaction between Northern Natural and its affiliate Enron NorthAmerica Corp. that covers 295,000 MMBtu/d of firm transportationspace, or about one-third of Northern’s pipeline capacity. Thecontract was filed at FERC on Oct. 29 (Docket No. RP96-272).
FERC, New Jersey Showdown over MarketLink Postponed
A showdown that was brewing between FERC and New Jersey Gov.Christine Todd Whitman over the hotly contested MarketLinkexpansion was defused late last week when Chairman James Hoeckerblinked. On Thursday, Hoecker had said the Commission intended toproceed with a vote on MarketLink despite Whitman’s threat that thestate would sue if the project was approved. But he did a completeabout-face the following day by pulling the MarketLink,Independence Pipeline and SupplyLink projects from the agenda forTuesday’s pre-Thanksgiving meeting. A FERC statement simply saidthe orders wouldn’t be completed in time.
Utilities Lobby for Relief from Clean-Air Lawsuits
Utility companies were close to conceding defeat late last week in their effort to get an amendment attached to a congressional spending bill that would absolve them of prosecution under the clean-air lawsuits bought by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this month (See NGI, Nov. 8).
Utilities Going Like Hot Cakes in Northeast
A big fish gobbled up yet another small fish in the Northeastlast week as Southern Union Co. (SU), the spurned suitor ofSouthwest Gas, announced it agreed to purchase Providence Energy(ProvEnergy) for a total transaction value of $400 million. Thedeal, which SU expects to close in nine to 12 months, representsSU’s third Northeast utility purchase this year. If all these dealsare completed, Southern Union will serve 1.5 million customers inRhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Missouri andFlorida.
Coral Hits Web With E-Business Site
Houston-based Coral Energy launched coralconnect.com, ane-business Web site featuring e-commerce transactions, customizedcommodity price information, proprietary energy market analysis andother customer services.
Bankrupt GA Marketer’s Customers Go to Shell
Shell Energy Services became Georgia’s third largest marketer last week by winning an auction with a $19.3 million bid for the bankrupt Peachtree Natural Gas’ 170,000 customers. The customer accounts may switch as soon as Dec. 1 or as late as the end of December depending on how fast the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) grants its approval of the sale, sources close to the situation said.