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On April 13, APGA’s Executive Vice President, Dave Schryver, spoke at the Illinois Public Energy Agency’s (IPEA) Annual Conference. IPEA was created in 2005 to serve the needs of the state’s municipal gas utilities that own and operate their own natural gas systems. The meeting was very well attended by representatives from Illinois’ public natural gas systems. Dave began his presentation by discussing the benefits that the direct-use of natural gas provides and the challenges direct-use has faced over the last several years.

Dave also discussed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s recent actions on pipeline rates in response to the lowering of the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent. He also discussed APGA’s efforts to ensure that pipeline customers receive the benefits of the lower tax rate. Dave discussed how the lack of refund authority in Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act has hamstrung the Commission’s ability to provide relief to pipeline customers that are paying a rate that is no longer just and reasonable as required under the Natural Gas Act.

Dave also discussed APGA’s efforts to address margin requirements on uncleared swap transactions and the potential impact margin requirements could have on natural gas prepays. Lastly, Dave provided an update on APGA’s efforts related to the direct-use of natural gas.

For questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver of APGA’s staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at dschryver@apga.org.