[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 182 (Monday, September 21, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50223-50224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25135]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-761-000]


Viking Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Application

September 15, 1998.
    Take notice that on September 3, 1998, Viking Gas Transmission 
Company (Viking) 825 Rice Street, St. Paul Minnesota 55117, filed in 
Docket No. CP98-761-000 an application, pursuant to Section 7(c) of the 
Natural Gas Act, for a certificate of public convenience and necessity 
authorizing it to construct and operate approximately 45 miles of 24-
inch diameter looping along with related tie-in piping and metering 
facilities, all as more fully set forth in the application which is on 
file with the Commission and open to public inspection.
    Viking proposes to construct a 1999 Expansion Project to provide 
additional firm forward haul transportation capacity to serve new loads 
off Viking and to increase system reliability and flexibility for 
existing Viking shippers. Viking asserts the project is necessary to 
enable Viking to meet Project Shipper demands for 28,200 Dekatherms per 
day (Dthd) of additional winter firm transportation service between 
Emerson and various delivery points and 22,200 Dthd of additional 
summer firm transportation service. The proposed project is a response 
to long-term transportation service requests and subsequent precedent 
agreements received from shippers following Viking's open season 
announcement in May 1998.
    Viking proposes the following specific facilities:
    (1) Five separate segments of 24-inch mainline looping totaling 45 
miles as follows:
     8.2 miles of looping in Kittson and Marshall Counties, 
commencing 19.6 miles downstream of the discharge side of Viking's 
Hallock Compressor Station;
     8.3 miles of looping in Polk County, Minnesota commencing 
11.8 miles downstream of Viking's Angus Compressor Station;
     10.1 miles of looping in Clay County, Minnesota commencing 
19.6 miles downstream of Viking's Ada Compressor Station;
     7.4 miles of looping in Ottertail County, Minnesota 
commencing on the discharge side of Viking's Frazee Compressor Station; 
and
     11.0 miles of looping in Morrison County, Minnesota 
commencing 9.9 miles downstream of Viking's Staples Compressor Station
    (2) Tie-in piping with mainline suction and discharge isolation 
valves within the boundaries of the Frazee Compressor Station, new 
crossover assemblies at the ends of 4 of the new loops segments, three 
mainline isolation valves with crossover assemblies, new taps with 
valves for emergency tie-over to the existing Hawley, Randall, and Camp 
Ripley meter station, and two mainline drip assemblies.
    (3) A new meter station within the boundaries of Viking's Frazee 
Compressor Station to provide a new delivery point to serve the City of 
Perham municipal gas utility, which would include a 2-inch hot tap 
fitting, piping, valves, measurement, and data acquisition equipment.
    Viking proposes to place the project facilities in operation by 
November 1, 1999, and requests a certificate no later than March 1, 
1999.
    Viking states that it announced an open season for the proposed 
capacity in May 1988. As an alternative to constructing new capacity, 
Viking also canvassed existing shippers to determine whether any 
shippers would permanently release existing Emerson capacity. No 
shippers offered to release capacity.
    Viking asserts that substantially all of the capacity to be 
constructed is subscribed under binding precedent agreements which 
contemplate 15-year contracts for firm capacity. The 28,200 Dthd of 
firm design winter capacity is fully subscribed and approximately 
22,000 Dthd of the 30,000 Dthd of firm summer capacity is subscribed. 
Viking notes that nearly 89 percent of the total billing determinants 
are thus subscribed. Viking states it will continue to market the 
unsubscribed capacity under the Rate Schedule FT-D rate structure. 
Viking asserts that an ``at risk'' condition should not be imposed 
since most of the project capacity is subscribed and since other 
customers on Viking's system will not have to subsidize the cost of the 
expansion facilities.
    Viking proposes to charge initial demand rates calculated on an 
incremental basis based on the actual cost of the 1999 Expansion. 
Viking states that the precedent agreements between Viking and the 
project shippers contemplate that approximately 30 days prior to the 
in-service date of the project, Viking will make a limited Section 4 
tariff filing to establish rate schedule sheets for the transportation 
service to be provided through the 1999 Expansion facilities. The 
precedent agreements also obligate Viking to make a subsequent limited 
Section 4 ``true-up'' filing following a final accounting of the 
project's costs. The precedent agreements further provide that the 
trued-up rates will be effective retroactive to the in-service date of 
the project, and that Viking will refund any differences between the 
project initial rates and the trued-up rates finally approved by the 
Commission. It is stated that the trued-up rates will be based on 
actual billing determinants and actual costs. Viking notes that in no 
event, will the limited Section 4 ``trued-up'' demand rates for Zone 1-
1 capacity exceed $10.65 per Dth per month. For Zone 1-2 capacity, 
Viking proposes a Zone 1-2 demand rate of $13.69. None of the currently 
subscribed capacity is Zone 1-2, however, the unsubscribed summer 
capacity may be sold as Zone 1-2. Viking indicates that the Zone 1-2 
rate would be ``trued-up'' on a pro rata basis with the Zone 1-1 upon 
determination of actual costs. Thus, Viking requests that the 
Commission in an effort to induce customer cooperation in minimizing 
the required facilities, Viking also offered to reduce the expansion 
rate for customers with existing primary delivery points downstream of 
Emerson who wished to acquire a primary firm transportation path 
between their existing primary delivery point and a downstream primary 
delivery point. Because such customers would require expansion capacity 
only from their existing primary delivery point to a downstream primary 
delivery point, and not from Emerson to that downstream point, Viking 
offered to reduce their expansion rate by an amount equal to one-half 
the rate for the customer's current firm transportation service from 
Emerson to the existing primary delivery point. NSP Minnesota was the 
only customer to accept this offer, by signing up for firm summer 
capacity from its existing East Grand Forks, Grand Forks, Moorhead, and 
Fargo primary delivery point to Chicago. Consequently, the rate to be 
paid by NSP-Minnesota for service between these existing primary 
delivery points and Chicago will be reduced by one-half the amount of 
NSP-Minnesota's effective rate for firm transportation from Emerson to 
the existing primary delivery points. In summary, Viking requests the 
Commission to establish initial demand rates of $10.65 Dth per month 
for Zone 1-1 and $13.69 Dth per month for Zone 1-2, subject to true-up 
in a later Section 4 filing.
    Viking proposes to set the initial commodity and fuel rates for the 
Project shippers equal to Viking's existing commodity and fuel rates 
for firm

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shippers under Rate Schedule FT-A, FT-B, and FT-C. Viking does not 
expect the 1999 Expansion Project to materially affect Viking's 
variable costs or fuel requirements.
    Viking does not seek as part of the subject filing an initial 
determination allowing roll-in of the 1999 Expansion Project costs at 
the time of its next general rate case. However, Viking explicitly 
reserves the right to seek such a roll-in at the time of the next 
Viking Section 4 rate case.
    Viking asserts that it currently has not unsubscribed forward haul 
capacity from Emerson to Chicago. Viking anticipates that the proposed 
facilities will benefit existing and project shippers in that the 
project will be used to serve the new firm forward haul requirements of 
the Project Shippers and to provide greater reliability and additional 
operating flexibility.
    The Project Shippers and their requested service levels are as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                             (Dth/d)  Requested  service
                  Shipper                               level           
------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Cardinal FG...........................  3,700                       
(2) City of Perham........................  1,500                       
(3) NSP--Minnesota........................  10,000 (Nov-Mar)            
                                            15,000 (Apr-Oct)            
(4) NSP--Wisconsin........................  11,000 (Oct-Apr)            
(5) UtiliCorp United......................  2,000                       
Unsubscribed..............................  8,000 (May-Sept)            
Capacity (subscribed and unsubscribed)....  28,200 (Winter)             
                                            33,200 (Apr & Oct)          
                                            30,200 (Summer)             
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Any person desiring to participate in the hearing process or to 
make any protest with reference to said application should on or before 
October 6, 1998, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426, a motion to intervene 
or a protest in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the 
Regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10). All protests 
filed with the Commission will be considered by it in determining the 
appropriate action to taken but will not serve to make the protestants 
parties to the proceeding. Any person wishing to become a party to a 
proceeding or to participate as a party in any hearing therein must 
file a motion to intervene in accordance with the Commission's Rules.
    A person obtaining intervenor status will be placed on the service 
list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive 
copies of all documents filed by the applicant and by every one of the 
intervenors. An intervenor can file for rehearing of any Commission 
order and can petition for court review of any such order. However, an 
intervenor must submit copies of comments or any other filing it makes 
with the Commission to every other intervenor in the proceeding, as 
well as 14 copies with the Commission.
    A person does not have to intervene, however, in order to have 
comments considered. A person, instead, may submit two copies of 
comments to the Secretary of the Commission. Commenters will be placed 
on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive copies of 
environmental documents and will be able to participate in meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process. 
Commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed documents on 
all other parties. However, commenters will not receive copies of all 
documents filed by other parties or issued by the Commission and will 
not have the right to seek rehearing or appeal the Commission's final 
order to a federal court.
    The Commission will consider all comments and concerns equally, 
whether filed by commenter or those requesting intervenor status.
    Take further notice that, pursuant to the authority contained in 
and subject to the jurisdiction conferred upon the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission by Section 7 and 15 of the Natural Gas Act and 
the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, a hearing will be 
held without further notice before the Commission or its designee on 
this application if no motion to intervene is filed within the item 
required herein, if the Commission on its own review of the matter 
finds that a grant of the certificate is required by the public 
convenience and necessity. If a motion for leave to intervene is timely 
filed, or if the Commission on its own motion believes that a formal 
hearing is required, further notice of such hearing will be duly given.
    Under the procedure herein provided for, unless otherwise advised, 
it will be unnecessary for Viking to appear or be represented at the 
hearing.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-25135 Filed 9-18-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M