Making use of extra capacity, three pipelines are collaboratingto provide additional transportation between Chicago and Dawn,Ontario this winter. If their capacity offering generates enoughinterest among shippers, the three could make the offering everywinter, creating a competitor to the planned Vector project.

The Coastal Corp.’s ANR Pipeline, Great Lakes Gas Transmissionand TransCanada PipeLines announced availability of capacity ontheir systems for hub-to-hub transportation between Chicago andDawn, Ontario.

An estimated 100,000 dt/d of capacity (about 100 MMcf/d) on thethree systems is available for the balance of this winter nowthrough March 31. “I think it’s safe to say this is the first timeall three pipelines have offered this capacity along this route ina formalized or coordinated manner,” said TransCanada spokesmanGlenn Herchack. “We are offering service from Chicago to Dawn nowusing existing facilities. We believe we can offer that service ata lower rate than Vector is proposing, so we are introducing oroffering shippers an alternative route to the same route thatVector is offering.”

With 1 Bcf/d of proposed firm transportation capacity forservice between Chicago and the Dawn Hub in Ontario starting inlate 2000, Vector is poised to be the first major Midwest projectin the ground among multiple proposed expansions and greenfieldpipelines designed to relieve the growing supply pressure nearChicago. Vector’s sponsors include Alliance Pipeline partner IPLEnergy and MCN Energy.

“It must be a function of what’s happening on the system thiswinter,” ANR spokesman Joe Martucci said of the extra capacity onANR that makes the trio’s offering possible. “I would justcharacterize it as a function of the demand this winter, whetherit’s weather-related or price-related, I just don’t know.”

ANR will provide service between Chicago and Farwell, MI, for 5cents/dt/d, plus fuel and surcharges. Great Lakes will provideservice from Farwell to St. Clair, MI, for 5 cents/dt/d, plus fueland surcharges. From St. Clair to Dawn service will be provided byTransCanada, for a biddable rate as low as approximately 2cents/dt/d on a firm basis, or as low as 1 cent/dt/d on aninterruptible basis, plus fuel and pressure charges.

Total shipper cost for service on all three pipelines isapproximately 19 cents/dt/d. Herchack said this figure iscompetitive with Vector’s proposed rates.

No new facilities will be required to help to link two of thepreeminent gas hubs in North America and provide shippers withincreased access to economical gas supplies. Depending upon marketinterest, additional Chicago-to-Dawn services may be provided inthe future. For example, winter-only and annual-capacity servicesmay become available.

For additional information, contact the designated marketing andsales representative: ANR, Ken Marchinda, (313)496-5713; GreatLakes, marketing hotline, (313)596-4487; and TransCanada, IainMacRae, (416)869-2123.

Great Lakes operates a 2,100-mile system that transportsCanadian gas to customers in the midwestern and northeastern UnitedStates and eastern Canada. Great Lakes also transports gas to andfrom storage fields located near its pipeline in Michigan. GreatLakes is equally owned by Coastal and TransCanada.

ANR operates a 10,600-mile interstate system providing storage,transportation and capacity-related services for local distributioncompanies, pipelines, end users and other customers in the UnitedStates and Canada.

Joe Fisher, Houston

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