MID-ATLANTIC CONTINGENCY PLANNING GROUP
October 10, 2006
The fall meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Contingency Planning Group was held in Roanoke, VA and hosted by Roanoke Gas. Tom Gibson called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
The following were in attendance:
Chairman: Tom Gibson (Columbia Distribution)
Vice Chairman: Drew Moncol (VA Power)
Secretary: David Blake (Columbia Gas Transmission)
Barry Ranson Dominion
Jody Derrickson Dominion
Ed Turowski Baltimore G & E
Blaine Rumford VA Power
Todd Smith Roanoke Gas
Michael Gagnet Roanoke Gas
Bill Christian Columbia Gas Transmission
Gale Carovillano Columbia Gas Transmission
Brian Blount Columbia Gas Transmission
Rodney Foston East Tennessee
Fred Trevino East Tennessee
Wayne Page East Tennessee (Duke)
David Daughtry City of Richmond
John Richardson VPEM
Alan Elmy PJM
Ken Mancini PJM
Columbia Gas Transmission – David Blake reported that temperatures throughout Columbia’s operating areas were slightly warmer with the average temperature being 81 degrees this year as compared to 80 degrees last year. However, the power generation load was 36.1 Bcf this summer, which is a drop from the 38.5 Bcf recorded last summer.
The storage contract quantity of our FSS customers started the summer at approximately 41% this year. Last year that figure was 18.8%. As of September 19th, 2006, the FSS customers have 91.2% of their SCQ in place compared to 89.6% last year.
TCO has over 500 miles of pipeline that has been or will be smart pigged this year as part of our Integrity Management Program. These pig runs cover pipelines located in 6 different states, including WV, VA MD, PA, NY, and OH.
East Tennessee – They reported that their LNG was full and had gone unused last year. Also, there is some construction scheduled in March to install launchers and receivers. A new line is coming into service at the end of October which will carry about 68 mmcf/d straight to a Transco interconnect. The new line is called Jewell Ridge.
Also, they are having a new SCADA system installed by Cygnet.
Dominion – Jody Derrickson reported their March SCQ level was at 38%. At the end of September, the customer level was nearly full.
There are 2 new tanks being installed at Cove Point LNG that will hold about 3.2 Bcf each. This will bring the capacity of the entire facility up to over 13 Bcf. They are also laying about 48 miles of 36” pipe to loop the Cove Point LNG mainline. About 80 miles of pipeline and 2 new compressor stations are being added. Also, approximately 6 Bcf of traditional storage is being added to their system.
City of Richmond – David Daughtry reported that they had held onto their storage last winter and had a high level at the end of the winter season. This was made possible by Columbia Gas waiving their ratchet level restrictions.
Roanoke Gas – It was reported that the U.S. has a very high amount of working gas in storage as compared to historical levels. They provided a breakdown of where Roanoke’s gas was being stored. A chart was also shown that reflected a definite increase in customer conservation taking place this year. El Nino effects and thoughts on the upcoming winter weather were also shared.
Columbia of Virginia/Maryland – Tom Gibson provided data related to weather for the past 6 months within their operating regions. Overall, there wasn’t a significant change. However, their throughput levels dropped off somewhat during the same period. The SCQ levels for both companies are almost at the top.
Tom also pointed out that the U.S. is in a strong storage position heading into winter operations. Also, he reminded us of the dramatic drop in natural gas rate on NYMEX from the previous year in which the hurricanes wreaked havoc on the Gulf Coast
Baltimore G&E – Ed Turowski reported that they had an easy summer with storage being very simple to fill. They were at about 95% of their SCQ level at the end of September. Peak shaving was barely even used. They have around 30 propane trucks remaining to top off their tanks.
PJM – They gave everyone a thorough overview on power generation operations and pricing.
Gale Carovillano discussed the history of problems related to the website. She also gave the attendees a choice of keeping the Archive link of the website password protected or having it open to the public. It was decided to leave it open to the public.
Columbia Gas Transmission offered to host the next meeting in the spring. The exact location is not known at this time.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 PM.