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APGA Files Comments on FERC Certificate Policy

By Dave Schryver posted 07-26-2018 09:26 AM

  
On July 25, APGA filed comments in response to a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking information and stakeholder perspectives to help FERC explore whether, and if so, how, to revise existing policies regarding its review and authorization of interstate natural gas transportation facilities under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act. In the April NOI, FERC announced its intent “to examine its policies in light of changes in the natural gas industry and increased stakeholder interest in how it reviews natural gas pipeline proposals since the Commission adopted its current Policy Statement on pipeline certification.”

In its comments, APGA expresses concern for FERC undertaking this review, “not so much as a concern about the Commission’s environmental reviews but as concerns the interests of captive shippers, which are the bulk of APGA’s membership.” The comments go on to urge modifications to the current policy and procedures that can make its process more transparent and the risk to captive shippers slightly lower. These include urging FERC to, when analyzing project need, look well beyond the mere existence of precedent agreements. Among the top factors FERC should consider are the stability of the prospective shippers and the proposed end use of the gas. The comments also state that increased scrutiny of projects that are designed to compete for existing market share rather than bring service to a new customer base is warranted because of the risk that overbuilding has on captive shippers’ rates. APGA also urges FERC to not allow pipelines to use the selective discounting policy to shift the cost of failed new projects to captive shippers.

A copy of the comments that APGA filed are available on the APGA website. For questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at dschryver@apga.org.

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