[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 243 (Monday, December 19, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 78641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-32373]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 [Docket No. AD12-7-000]


Southwestern Gas Storage Technical Conference; Notice of Public 
Conference

    Take notice that on February 16, 2012 at 9 a.m. MST, the Staff of 
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) will 
convene a technical conference with interested parties to discuss 
issues related to natural gas storage development in the southwestern 
United States. The conference will be held at the Radisson Fort 
McDowell Resort, 10438 North Fort McDowell Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85264 
(http://www.radissonfortmcdowellresort.com).
    As discussed in more detail in the joint FERC and NERC Report on 
Outages and Curtailments During the Southwest Cold Weather Event of 
February 1-5, 2011: Causes and Recommendations, ``[a]dditional gas 
storage capacity in the downstream market areas closer to demand 
centers in Arizona and New Mexico could have prevented most of the 
outages that occurred by making additional supply available in a more 
timely manner during peak demand periods.'' The Commission is 
interested in exploring the potential of storage development in the 
Southwest,\1\ and this technical conference will provide information 
useful to the Commission as it reviews its current policies on storage 
proposals.
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    \1\ The joint report focused on the natural gas and electricity 
shortages that occurred in the Southwest in early February 2011 and 
seriously affected three states: Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. 
However, for the purpose of this conference the Southwest is 
generally defined as west Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, southern 
Nevada and southern California.
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    In order to more clearly focus the discussion at the conference, 
potential presenters should consider the following questions and 
present their responses at the conference:
    What potential projects are currently under consideration by the 
industry for developing gas storage in the Southwest?
    What new policies can the Commission institute that would help 
incent storage development?
    What types of storage services are necessary or envisioned? Who 
will contract for these services?
    What type of storage facilities can physically be constructed (i.e. 
salt cavern, depleted oil/gas reservoirs, aquifer type, etc.)?
    What environmental and cultural resources issues would affect the 
development of gas storage facilities in the Southwest?
    Persons interested in speaking or making a presentation should 
indicate their interest no later than January 5, 2012 and should refer 
to Docket No. AD12-7-000. Each request to participate must include the 
name of a contact person, who they represent, and their telephone 
number and email address. There is no need to provide advance notice to 
the Commission simply to attend the conference.
    Comments addressing or identifying Southwestern natural gas storage 
issues may also be filed by January 12, 2012. Every effort will be made 
to accommodate requests to make presentations, but depending on the 
number of requests received, a limit may have to be placed on the 
number of presenters and the time allowed for presentations. To provide 
for a more productive conference, where practicable interested persons/
parties should coordinate their efforts and choose one spokesperson to 
make a statement on behalf of a group where interests coincide.
    In a subsequent notice, we will provide further details on the 
conference, including the agenda and a list of participants, as plans 
evolve. For additional information, please contact Berne Mosley in the 
Office of Energy Projects, phone: (202) 502-8700, email: 
[email protected].

    Dated: December 13, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. 2011-32373 Filed 12-16-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P