[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 38 (Friday, February 25, 2000)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10227-10228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-3596]



  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 38 / Friday, February 25, 2000 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 10227]]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

18 CFR Part 284

[Docket Nos. RM94-10-000, RM96-7-000, RM96-14-003, RM98-11-000]


Termination of Rulemaking Proceedings

Issued February 9, 2000.
AGENCY: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, DOE.

ACTION: Proposed rulemaking: termination of rulemaking proceedings.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has determined that 
it will take no further action in Docket Nos. RM94-10-000, RM96-7-000, 
RM96-14-003, and RM98-11-000, and, therefore, the dockets are closed.

DATES: These dockets are terminated upon issuance of the order.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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                                                           Docket No.
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Secondary Market Transactions on Interstate Natural          RM96-14-003
 Gas Pipelines.......................................
Rate Design for Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines.....        RM98-11-000
Regulation of Negotiated Transportation Services of           RM96-7-000
 Natural Gas Pipelines...............................
Petition of United Distribution Companies for                RM94-10-000
 Rulemaking Regarding the Secondary Market...........
Transwestern Pipeline Company Pacific Gas and               RP96-352-002
 Electric Company Southern California Gas Company....
Columbia Gas Transmission Company....................       RP96-356-001
Columbia Gulf Transmission Corporation...............       RP96-355-001
Mountaineer Gas Company..............................       RP96-372-001
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp...................       RP96-371-001
Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc...................       RP96-382-001
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company...............       RP96-360-001
Brooklyn Union Gas Company...........................       RP96-369-001
Washington Gas Light Company.........................       RP96-368-001
National Fuel Gas Distribution Company...............       RP96-353-001
Kern River Gas Transmission Company..................       RP96-370-001
Boston Gas Company...................................       RP96-373-001
Arizona Public Service Company.......................       RP96-379-001
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Order Terminating Proceedings

    This order terminates the above-captioned proceedings. The matters 
at issue in these proceedings have been resolved by the Final Rule 
issued contemporaneously with this order by the Commission in 
Regulation of Short-Term Natural Gas Transportation Services, Docket 
No. RM98-10-000, and Regulation of Interstate Natural Gas 
Transportation Services, Docket No. RM98-12-000.
    In Secondary Market Transactions on Interstate Natural Gas 
Pipelines, Docket No. RM96-14-000, the Commission proposed changes to 
its capacity release policies, and proposed to institute a pilot 
program to permit shippers releasing capacity and pipelines selling 
interruptible capacity to sell at rates above the pipeline's maximum 
tariff if they could demonstrate that they did not have market power in 
the secondary market. Applications to participate in the pilot program 
were filed by a number of pipelines and LDCs. Specifically, 
Transwestern Pipeline Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and Southern 
California Gas Co. filed a joint application to participate in the 
pilot program in Docket No. RP96-14-000, Columbia Gas Transmission Co. 
filed an application in Docket No. RP96-356-000, Columbia Gulf 
Transmission Corp. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-355-000, 
Mountaineer Gas Co. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-372-000, 
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. filed an application in Docket No. 
RP96-371-000, Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. filed an application 
in Docket No. RP96-382-000, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. filed an 
application in Docket No. RP96-360-000, Brooklyn Union Gas Co. filed an 
application in Docket No. RP96-369-000, Washington Gas Light Co. filed 
an application in Docket No. RP96-368-000, National Fuel Gas 
Distribution Co. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-353-000, Kern 
River Gas Transmission Co. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-370-
000, Boston Gas Co. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-373-000, 
and Arizona Public Service Co. filed an application in Docket No. RP96-
379-000. The Commission accepted some of the applications and rejected 
others,\1\ but subsequently terminated the pilot program.\2\ Requests 
for rehearing of the Commission's decision to terminate the pilot 
program, as well as requests for rehearing of the Commission's rulings 
in the individual application proceedings are pending. The Commission's 
decision in the Final Rule to remove the price cap on short-term 
transactions in the secondary market makes the issue raised in these 
requests for rehearing moot, and the Commission therefore terminates 
the proceedings.
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    \1\ 77 FERC para. 61,183 (1996).
    \2\ Transwestern Pipeline Company, 78 FERC para. 61,200 (1997).
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    In Petition of United Distribution Companies, Docket No. RM94-10-
000, the petitioner requested that the Commission facilitate use of the 
secondary market by authorizing the holders of firm capacity to market 
their capacity directly to all interested persons. In the Final Rule, 
the Commission has taken action to facilitate capacity release 
transactions, including removal of the price cap and improving 
competition and efficiency across the pipeline grid. The Commission has 
determined that the actions taken in the Final Rule are the appropriate 
modifications to the capacity release mechanism, and will not make any 
other changes to the capacity release process at this time. Therefore, 
the proceeding in Docket No. RM94-10-000 is terminated.
    In Petition of Public Service Commission of the State of New York

[[Page 10228]]

for Rulemaking Regarding Rate Design, Docket No. RM98-11-000, the 
petitioner asked the Commission to reconsider use of the SFV rate 
design methodology. In the Final Rule the Commission discusses the 
objections to use of the SFV rate design, but concludes that it will 
not order a generic change in rate design and will continue its current 
approach of considering requests to use different rate designs in 
individual cases. This disposes of the issue raised in Docket No. RM98-
11-000, and the proceeding is therefore terminated.
    In Regulation of Negotiated Transportation Services of Natural Gas 
Pipelines, Docket No. RM96-7-000, the Commission considered the 
appropriateness of negotiated terms and conditions of service. The 
Commission received comments on this issue in the Docket No. RM98-10-
000 proceeding, and determines in the Final Rule that in light of 
significant unresolved questions concerning the need for and effects of 
negotiated terms and conditions, the Commission will not provide 
pipelines with authority for pre-approval of negotiated terms and 
conditions at this time. This resolves the issue raised in Docket No. 
RM96-7-000, and Docket No. RM96-7-000 is therefore terminated.
    Document Availability: In addition to publishing the full text of 
this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all 
interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of 
this document via the Internet through FERC's Home Page (http://www.ferc.fed.us) and in FERC's Public Reference Room during normal 
business hours (8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern time) at 888 First 
Street, N.E., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426.
    From FERC's Home Page on the Internet, this information is 
available in both the Commission Issuance Posting System (CIPS) and the 
Records and Information Management System (RIMS).

--CIPS provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission since November 14, 1994.
--CIPS can be accessed using the CIPS link or the Energy Information 
Online icon. The full text of this document is available on CIPS in 
ASCII and WordPerfect 8.0 format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading.
--RIMS contains images of documents submitted to and issued by the 
Commission after November 16, 1981. Documents from November 1995 to the 
present can be viewed and printed from FERC's Home Page using the RIMS 
link or the Energy Information Online icon. Descriptions of documents 
back to November 16, 1981, are also available from RIMS-on-the-Web; 
requests for copies of these and other older documents should be 
submitted to the Public Reference Room.

    User assistance is available for RIMS, CIPS, and the Website during 
normal business hours from our Help line at (202) 208-2222 (E-Mail to 
[email protected]) or the Public Reference at (202) 208-1371 (E-
Mail to [email protected]).
    During normal business hours, documents can also be viewed and/or 
printed in FERC's Public Reference Room, where RIMS, CIPS, and the FERC 
Website are available. User assistance is also available.
    The Commission orders: The proceedings in the above-captioned 
dockets are terminated.

    By the Commission.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-3596 Filed 2-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P