The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission grudgingly has yielded to pipelines' requests that it hold a technical conference on the "mega-NOPR."
FERC scheduled a Jan. 22 meeting in Washington to explore operational aspects of the proposed rulemaking, which would restructure pipeline rates and services (OGJ, July 29, 1991, p. 31).
The rulemaking is a continuation of FERC's efforts to promote competition in the gas pipeline industry.
LAST CHANCE FOR CHANGE
In seeking the technical conference, pipelines argued it would ease their uncertainties about the sweeping rulemaking (OGJ, Dec. 30, 1991, Newsletter).
They also know it could be their last chance to win changes.
FERC wants to issue the often-delayed final rule shortly after the technical conference. Its first opportunity to do so would be at its Jan. 29 meeting.
Pipelines won the technical conference largely by posing a specter guaranteed to raise the hair on regulators' necks: the possibility long lines might not be able to meet winter gas demand.
Specifically, they said mega-NOPR's mandatory unbundling of rates could reduce their ability to meet sudden--no notice-increases in customer demand caused by unexpected temperature changes.
FERC said the conference must be limited to that and a few other issues. It posed 18 questions for comments, mostly focusing on the no-notice issue.
The agency said, "The main purpose of the conference is to obtain additional information on pipeline operations in order to analyze operational issues associated with the commission's unbundling proposal. This conference is not intended to hear a person's arguments for or against the proposal. There should be no discussion of policy or legal matters."
Meanwhile, gas pipelines recently were heartened at the Department of Energy's position on, a key mega-NOPR issue.
Deputy Energy Sec. Henson Moore said FERC should permit pipelines to recover 100% of transition costs related to implementation of the mega-NOPR through a direct billing of pipeline customers.
NO POSTPONEMENT
FERC was adamant that it would not consider postponing the mega-NOPR conference.
Earlier, it had yielded to gas pipeline requests for a postponement of a technical conference on another controversial rule.
A Jan. 7 conference on the nonenvironmental aspects of Order 555, the pipeline construction rule, was delayed until Jan. 17.
The agency held a conference on the rule's environmental sections last November. Issuance of the final pipeline construction rule has been delayed several months.
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