Pacific Gas & Electric finally brings an extended Stage 3 high-inventory OFO to a halt today. The OFO, which caused steep plunges at PG&E-related pricing points Friday when it was issued for Saturday, got extended through Sunday at zero tolerance for positive daily imbalances. The tolerance was loosened considerably to 15% in Monday’s OFO, but $5/Dth penalties remained in place.

As it had advised customers last week (see Daily GPI, May 10), effective today Northwest will implement a Declared Overrun Entitlement due to excess northbound nominations through the Kemmerer (WY) Station system bottleneck. However, the entitlement was changed from the Stage II (8% tolerance) mentioned last week to a less stringent Stage III (13%) “because of warm temperatures in Northwest’s primary market area.” In addition, because scheduled northbound volumes through Kemmerer exceeded 474,000 Dth/d after Monday’s Timely cycle, an OFO also is being imposed today. Northwest is currently using the additional capacity provided by portable compression to perform scheduled maintenance, due to be finished by Friday, at the Soda Springs and Kemmerer Compressor Stations. “Calculations of OFO responsibility will be the difference between scheduled [Kemmerer] volumes and 474,000 Dth/d,” the pipeline said, adding that it will not be moving any storage gas from Clay Basin to Jackson Prairie for its own account during this period. A bulletin board posting discusses ways in which a customer can comply with the OFO as it relates to overscheduling north through the Kemmerer constraint.

Citing customer requests, Questar has extended open seasons for expansion of its Northern and Southern Systems (see Daily GPI, May 2). Instead of ending May 18 as originally scheduled, the seasons will close on June 1.

El Paso said Guadalupe Station turbine maintenance will be extended through May 27, reducing South Mainline capacity by 225 MMcf/d. Line 1100 between Eunice and Pecos River Stations will be shut in for repairs May 29-30. The IWAREUNI interconnect cannot flow into Line 1100 on either day. On May 30, five other interconnects will be unable to flow into Line 1100. In addition, total flow through Eunice Station to the South Mainline will be limited to 245 MMcf/d (such flows this month have ranged from 200 MMcf/d to 450 MMcf/d). Plants upstream of Eunice and in the Monument area will compete for space with San Juan and Anadarko gas moving south from Plains Station, El Paso said. In addition, Line 1103 between Pecos River and Guadalupe Stations was taken out of service last Thursday for repairs that are expected to run through Wednesday. Capacity through Pecos River is limited to 640 MMcf/d until the repairs are complete.

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