Inside this Issue Focus On Safety APGA Sends Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama APGA Launching New Website APGA Applauds FERC Commissioners for Supporting Section 5 Reform Gas Supply Conference Filling Fast - Book Your Hotel in Clearwater Today! Gas Supply Conference Schedule Gas Supply Conference Registration Hassle Free Service Ideas from Chester County Natural Gas Authority FERC Terminates Inquiry into Fuel Retention December 8, 2008 Volume 27 Number 21 P UBLIC G AS N EWS APGA Meets With Obama Transition Team on Pipeline Safety Issues Register for the Gas Supply Conference! APGA is holding its Gas Supply Conference in Clearwater, Florida on January 27-28, 2009. Schedule and registration form for the Gas Supply Conference can be found on pages six and seven. 5 6 8 2 3 4 3 7 On November 24, APGA’s Bert Kalisch and John Erickson met with Kelly Coyner and Robert Rifkin of the Obama transition team to provide guidance for the new administration‘s plans for regulating pipeline safety. Kelly Coyner is familiar to APGA members as she served as Admin- istrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration, the prede- cessor to the Pipeline and Hazard- ous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) during the Clinton admin- istration. APGA urged that a strong leader be appointed to head PHMSA who could work to retain the confi- dence of the Congressional over- sight committees. Maintaining the confidence in Congress that PHMSA is running an effective pipeline safety program is critical to avoid excessive mandates for new regulations. We also pointed out that over the last eight years the administrative burden of regulations has significant- ly increased. Operator qualification, transmission integrity management and public awareness rules took ef- fect and all require detailed written plans. We emphasized the burden that preparation of written plans and increased reporting has had on pub- lic gas utilities and urged that utilities be given time to adjust to these new requirements before more any addi- tional amendments to the regulations are considered. APGA looks forward to continuing to provide advice to the Obama transition team on this and other areas important to public gas. For further information contact John Erickson, APGA Vice Presi- r dent, Operations 202-464-0834 or [email protected][email protected]4
Transcript
Inside this Issue
Focus On Safety
APGA Sends Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama
APGA Launching New Website
APGA Applauds FERC Commissioners for Supporting Section 5 Reform
Gas Supply Conference Filling Fast - Book Your Hotel in Clearwater Today!
Gas Supply Conference Schedule
Gas Supply ConferenceRegistration
Hassle Free Service Ideas from Chester County Natural Gas Authority
FERC Terminates Inquiry into Fuel Retention
December 8, 2008Volume 27 Number 21
PUBLIC GAS NEWSAPGA Meets With Obama Transition Team on
Pipeline Safety Issues
December 8, 2008
PPPPUBLIC UBLIC UBLIC UBLIC GGGGAS AS AS AS NNNNEWSEWSEWSEWS
Register for the Gas Supply Conference!
APGA is holding its Gas Supply Conference in Clearwater, Florida on January 27-28, 2009.
Schedule and registration form for the Gas Supply
Conference can be found on pages six and seven.
5
6
8
2
3
4
3
7
On November 24, APGA’s Bert Kalisch and John Erickson met with Kelly Coyner and Robert Rifkin of the Obama transition team to provide guidance for the new administration‘s plans for regulating pipeline safety. Kelly Coyner is familiar to APGA members as she served as Admin-istrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration, the prede-cessor to the Pipeline and Hazard-ous Materials Safety Administration ous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) during the Clinton admin-istration. APGA urged that a strong leader be appointed to head PHMSA who could work to retain the confi -who could work to retain the confi -dence of the Congressional over-dence of the Congressional over-sight committees. Maintaining the sight committees. Maintaining the confi dence in Congress that PHMSA confi dence in Congress that PHMSA is running an effective pipeline safety program is critical to avoid excessive mandates for new regulations.
We also pointed out that over the last eight years the administrative burden of regulations has signifi cant-ly increased. Operator qualifi cation, transmission integrity management and public awareness rules took ef-fect and all require detailed written plans. We emphasized the burden that preparation of written plans and increased reporting has had on pub-lic gas utilities and urged that utilities be given time to adjust to these new requirements before more any addi-tional amendments to the regulations are considered. APGA looks forward to continuing to provide advice to the Obama transition team on this and other areas important to public gas. For further information contact John Erickson, APGA Vice Presi-dent, Operations 202-464-0834 or dent, Operations 202-464-0834 or [email protected]@apga.org
4
Page 2 www.apga.org December 8, 2008
APGA Public Gas News
Publisher: Bert Kalisch
Editor: Kristin Gomez
Writers: APGA Staff
Layout: Marghet Hager
For Questions and Comments: Marghet Hager - 202-464-0832 or [email protected]
Public Gas News is published biweekly by the American Public Gas Association
Copyright 2008 American Public Gas Association
All rights reserved.
This is intended for actual subscriber use only. You may not forward, distribute, copy or republish this newsletter in any manner without the express written consent of the American Public Gas
Association.
Focus on Safety is a new feature that will appear in the PGN through-out the year. Sponsored by the Op-erations and Safety Committee, this series of articles will provide useful information on a variety of safety-related topics that member systems can use in tailgate safety sessions. This fi rst Focus on Safety will discuss personal protective clothing. This is a result of the responses one associate member received when he posed a question to the Operations and Safety Committee about the policies APGA member utilities have regarding per-sonal protective clothing.Personal Protective Clothing Natural gas workers are trained to work safely in fl ammable gas at-mospheres (typically between 4-15 percent natural gas in air). Training includes knowledge of potential sourc-es of ignition, for without an ignition source, even a fl ammable mixture will not catch on fi re. Even so, accidental ignition does happen and wearing the proper personal protective clothing is important when the unexpected does occur. The “Natural Gas Safety Handbook for Utility Workers and Contractors” produced by APGA and the National Safety Council, states that “clothing made of synthetic material (nylon, rayon, polyester, etc.) should not be worn if working in an area where fl am-mable gas, electric fl ash or exces-sive heat/fl ame is possible. Synthetic fabrics are plastic that melt at high temperatures, making it diffi cult to remove burning clothing and making burns worse by melting onto the skin. Whenever working in an area of es-caping gas, fi re-resistant clothing and other necessary personal protective equipment should be worn.” Robert Weindorfer of Philadel-phia Gas Works (PGW) replied that they use fl ame-resistant clothing that meets the NFPA 2112 Standard on
Flame-Resistant Garments for Pro-tection of Industrial Personnel Against Flash Fire. The test exposure in this standard is three seconds. The most used fabrics in the gas industry are Indura®, made by Westex, and Du-Pont’s Nomex®. Jon Mason of Chambersburg, PA added that the potential for static from polyester traffi c safety vests has led Chambersburg to use Modacrylic, ANSI class 2 compliant vests and avoid donning and doffi ng the vests in hazardous atmospheres. Okaloosa Gas uses Nomex 3A cov-eralls and headgear and also requires goggles and hard hats when work-ing in a fl ammable gas atmosphere. When the clothing is purchased with zippers, Okaloosa specifi es that there be fl aps over the zippers to avoid sparking. Velcro is used in lieu of but-tons to seal sleeve and leg openings. Okaloosa also pointed out that laundering practices are important with Nomex to avoid washing out the coatings. No bleach or softener can be used. They recommend dry clean-ing and to inform the dry cleaner of the use of the clothing. Fire resistant clothing is not fi re proof – Mike Deegan of Clearwater Gas noted that fl ame retardant cloth-ing provides four to seven seconds of protection for escape purposes from a potential 3400 degree natural gas fi re. Clearwater also requires Nomex 3A coveralls and hoods. Because of the importance of prop-erly cleaning fi re-resistant fabrics some APGA members reported that they provide a cleaning service for these clothing. This not only increases the useful life of this important safety equipment but is also much appreci-ated by their employees. If you have a safety-related ques-tion, please contact John Erickson, by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at [email protected].
Focus On Safety Focus on Safety is a new feature that will appear in the PGN through-out the year. Sponsored by the Op-erations and Safety Committee, this series of articles will provide useful information on a variety of safety-related topics that member systems can use in tailgate safety sessions. This fi rst Focus on Safety will discuss personal protective clothing. This is a result of the responses one associate member received when he posed a question to the Operations and Safety Committee about the policies APGA member utilities have regarding per-sonal protective clothing.Personal Protective ClothingPersonal Protective Clothing Natural gas workers are trained to work safely in fl ammable gas at-mospheres (typically between 4-15 percent natural gas in air). Training includes knowledge of potential sourc-es of ignition, for without an ignition source, even a fl ammable mixture will not catch on fi re. Even so, accidental ignition does happen and wearing the proper personal protective clothing is important when the unexpected does occur. The “Natural Gas Safety Handbook for Utility Workers and Contractors” produced by APGA and the National Safety Council, states that “clothing made of synthetic material (nylon, rayon, polyester, etc.) should not be worn if working in an area where fl am-mable gas, electric fl ash or exces-sive heat/fl ame is possible. Synthetic fabrics are plastic that melt at high temperatures, making it diffi cult to remove burning clothing and making burns worse by melting onto the skin. Whenever working in an area of es-caping gas, fi re-resistant clothing and other necessary personal protective equipment should be worn.” Robert Weindorfer of Philadel-phia Gas Works (PGW) replied that they use fl ame-resistant clothing that meets the NFPA 2112 Standard on
Flame-Resistant Garments for Pro-tection of Industrial Personnel Against Flash Fire. The test exposure in this standard is three seconds. The most used fabrics in the gas industry are Indura®, made by Westex, and Du-Pont’s Nomex®. Jon Mason of Chambersburg, PA added that the potential for static from polyester traffi c safety vests has led Chambersburg to use Modacrylic, ANSI class 2 compliant vests and avoid donning and doffi ng the vests in hazardous atmospheres. Okaloosa Gas uses Nomex 3A cov-eralls and headgear and also requires goggles and hard hats when work-ing in a fl ammable gas atmosphere. When the clothing is purchased with zippers, Okaloosa specifi es that there be fl aps over the zippers to avoid sparking. Velcro is used in lieu of but-tons to seal sleeve and leg openings. Okaloosa also pointed out that laundering practices are important with Nomex to avoid washing out the coatings. No bleach or softener can be used. They recommend dry clean-ing and to inform the dry cleaner of the use of the clothing. Fire resistant clothing is not fi re proof – Mike Deegan of Clearwater Gas noted that fl ame retardant cloth-ing provides four to seven seconds of protection for escape purposes from a potential 3400 degree natural gas fi re. Clearwater also requires Nomex 3A coveralls and hoods. Because of the importance of prop-erly cleaning fi re-resistant fabrics some APGA members reported that they provide a cleaning service for these clothing. This not only increases the useful life of this important safety equipment but is also much appreci-ated by their employees. If you have a safety-related ques-tion, please contact John Erickson, by phone at 202-464-0834 or by email at [email protected]@apga.org.
Focus On SafetyFocus On Safety
Page 3 www.apga.org December 8, 2008
On November 24, APGA sent a letter to President-elect Obama congratulat-ing him on his historic election as the 44th President of the United States. The letter also encouraged the Presi-dent-elect to nominate commissioners to energy regulatory agencies such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-mission (FERC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) that are “personally committed to re-storing the primacy of the consumer to their agency’s mission.” During the campaign, then Sena-tor Obama made it clear that he would introduce a new energy policy that is partially weaved into his adminis-tration’s plan for fi nancial recovery.
APGA believes energy policy plays an important role in fi nancial recovery vis-a-vis ensuring that prices for energy commodities like natural gas remain just and affordable. As natural gas consumers, our num-ber one priority is the safe and reliable delivery of affordable natural gas to our citizens at just and reasonable rates. The extreme volatility of energy prices, especially over the past year, has led to a lack of confi dence and trust in the market’s ability to set a fair price for consumers. As stated in the letter, “A critical component to restor-ing consumer trust in the energy mar-kets is greater transparency through increased government oversight and
accountability measures from agen-cies like FERC, CFTC and others.” The letter emphasized that as the new Administration looks to address issues such as climate change, ener-gy security and fi nancial recovery, “it is crucial that the energy prices consum-ers pay are transparent and fair. Add-ing artifi cial and unnecessary costs due to lax regulatory oversight or an unwillingness to address dysfunctional market conditions will only exacerbate consumer frustrations.” A copy of the letter can be found at www.apga.org. If you have any questions please contact Nate Hill by phone at 202-464-2742 or at [email protected].
APGA Sends Letter to President-Elect Barack Obama
APGA Launching New Website APGA is set to launch an upgraded version of its website www.apga.org. The new site has a cleaner look and is easier to use than the current site. At APGA we are constantly working to make the information you need easier to fi nd for you and your employees. The website upgrade will provide APGA members with important infor-mation on natural gas issues at both the federal and local levels, access to all of our publications, a press room, conference presentations, easy event registration, a new members-only sec-tion and more! The new site will launch on Decem-ber 12 and we expect to hear your feedback as we continue to improve the site functionality. The website is an additional value to your APGA membership and we look forward to hearing your thoughts on how we can make the site more benefi cial to our users. If you have any questions on the new website please contact Kristin Gomez at [email protected] or by phone at 202-464-2742.
New APGA homepage (left); New APGA inner webpages (right)
Page 4 www.apga.org December 8, 2008
The 2009 APGA Board & Committee Meetings and the Gas Supply Confer-ence (GSC) are fast approaching! This year’s GSC is scheduled for January 27-28 at the beautiful Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, FL. The APGA Gas Supply Conference is held annually as an add-on to the winter Board and Committee Meetings. The goal of this conference is to provide public utilities a forum to learn more about natural gas supply while ad-dressing current market changes and challenges. The conference focuses on available purchase alternatives for public gas systems and provides an overview of what the gas supply mar-kets have in store for next year. After attending APGA’s two-day Gas Supply Conference your management team will have insight into current gas supply conditions, future price predic-tions and gas purchase options to pro-vide your municipal utility price protec-
tion for short-term price spikes in the future. Participants will also have an opportunity to network with other pub-lic utility members and knowledgeable industry experts. The 2009 confer-ence will include an overview of lique-fied natural gas, an update on shale production and a panel that focuses on the market for prepays and the im-pact the economic crisis has had on the prepay market. We are expecting record numbers and urge APGA members to register and book your hotel rooms soon. The cut-off date is December 24, 2008. This year rooms are going fast be-cause the Super Bowl will be in Tampa on the following Sunday. This means that if you would like to attend the con-ference and get a little extra Florida beach time, you should plan to arrive a few days before the meeting. We are advised there is little flexibility in obtaining additional rooms or extend-
ing the room block. We have also been notified that APGA’s room block has just a few rooms for a Wednesday night stay, and the hotel is completely sold-out from Thursday forward. To make your reservation, please call (727) 595-1611. Be sure to men-tion “American Public Gas Associa-tion” when making reservations to get the group rate of $179.00 per night be-fore the December 24 deadline. To register and find out more about the meetings and the Gas Supply Con-ference please go to our website athttp://www.apga.org/2009Clearwater/index.asp. The schedule and registra-tion are also on pages five and six of this week’s Public Gas News for you to fill out and fax to APGA. If you have any questions on the Gas Supply Conference, please con-tact Dave Schryver of APGA’s staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at [email protected].
Gas Supply Conference Filling Fast - Book Your Hotel in Clearwater Today!
At the November 20, Federal En-ergy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Open Meeting, Chairman Kelliher, as well as Commissioners Wellinghoff, Moeller, and Spitzer spoke in support of the need for congressional action to reform Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act. Later that day, APGA issued a statement that strongly commended the Chairman and the Commissioners mentioned above for their recognition of the inherent unfairness in the man-ner in which gas customers are treat-ed under the Natural Gas Act versus electricity customers under the Fed-eral Power Act, when it comes to the ability of FERC to review and timely set just and reasonable rates. In response to the statements made at the meeting, Bert Kalisch, APGA’s President & CEO, stated “I strongly urge the 111th Congress to act quickly to remedy this situation and provide natural gas customers with the same
protections that electricity customers receive.” He further stated “The state-ments made by Chairman Kelliher and the other Commissioners provide fur-ther evidence of the need to provide a safeguard to consumers by reforming Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act.” Currently, under the Federal Power Act, if a complaint is filed and FERC rules that the rate the customers have paid was unjust and unreasonable, FERC has the authority to make the new just and reasonable rate retroac-tive to when the complaint case was filed, which means that the affected customers receive refunds (including interest) of the overcharges. By con-trast, FERC does not have the same authority under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) to retroactively reimburse a gas customer that has been determined to be paying an unjust and unreasonable rate. The gas customer will begin to pay the new just and reasonable rate
only when FERC has concluded the complaint case, which means that the affected pipeline is able to retain all overcharges from the time the com-plaint is filed until it is finally resolved, which is likely to be a period of several years at best. APGA has maintained that since pipelines can continue to charge ex-cessive rates without fear of refunds if such rates are found unjust and un-reasonable, complaint proceedings are rarely initiated and, if initiated, the pipelines use every technique at their disposal to prolong the proceeding. APGA will continue to push for the passage of legislation that corrects this inequity. If you have any questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver of APGA’s staff by phone at 202-464-2742 or by email at [email protected].
APGA Applauds FERC Commissioners for Supporting Section 5 Reform
Page 5 www.apga.org December 8, 2008
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Hassle Free Service Ideas from Chester County Natural Gas Authority Chester County Natural Gas Au-thority has developed a list of “Hassle Free Service Ideas” to minimize the often-heard objection that natural gas installation is complicated and laden with problems. Chester Country has implemented several of these mea-sures in their own system …others await capital investment and the hiring of staff. Whatever your situation, it is worth considering and implementing these tips into your system. Despite the slowing economy, Chester County has taken the downturn in stride. Prior to the cooling of the housing market, Chester’s plan was to have measures, such as piping crews in place to co-incide with the construction of new housing developments. Despite and because of slow residential growth, Chester anticipates moving forward with all these measures. Why is that? Chester believes that in a slow growth market it must continue to grow its system from within by installing more burner tips with existing customers. APGA thanks Mike Enoch and Joey Neal of Chester for sharing their ideas with all APGA members. For more in-formation please contact Joey Neal, Manager of Customer Relations/Op-erations Chester County Natural Gas Authority at 803-385-3157 or [email protected].
HASSLE FREE SERVICE IDEAS
1. Provide installation of house piping and all appliances
a. Hire a two-man piping crewb. Provide one service truck and
tools for that two-man piping crew
c. Charge reasonable and just rates for installation
2. Stop charging a tap feea. Drop the tap fee and replace with
a refundable application fee. b. Reinstitute a refundable $100.00
application fee that will be our fee if customer does not turn on gas within 120 days.
3.Take credit card payments over tele-phone. Charge 3% for that conve-nience.
4. Expand appliance programa. Work with local stores to promote
gas appliancesb. Partner with local store on appli-
ancesi. Partner with local furniture
stores that sell gas applianc-es (ranges-dryers) so that we can help customers meet ap-pliance needs that we cannot meet at CCNGA. We cannot purchase ranges or dryers from any supplier. Factory direct purchases require mini-mum annual order require-ments that we cannot meet
c. Offer wider variety of gas appli-ances
d. Install natural gas appliances in homes at no cost
e. Enlarge display area for applianc-es without office construction
5. Offer delivery to contractors of ap-pliances and piping materials (min-imum order)
6. Offer on-site new service applica-tions for contractors and home-owners. If we no longer have a tap fee, no fees would be due at time of application. EFV valve could be billed to customer.
7. Personal Service Techniciana. This position is in response to
the slowdown of our natural gas business. This person will be available to customers to help
make decisions on installation of natural gas in their home at no cost to the homeowner. He will be trained in many areas on how to make a home energy efficient and green.
8. Installation of Water Heatersa. Hire a two-man water heating
crewb. Provide one service truck and
tools for that two-man crewc. Charge reasonable and just rates
for installation
9. Consideration for a water heater in-surance program
a. Monthly charge to cover Replace-ment & Maintenance of water heaters that qualify by proper installation and protection from elements.
10.Consideration for installation insur-ance program
a. Monthly charge to cover instal-lation charges of any gas appli-ances
11.Continue to keep residential price fluctuations to a minimum, so that consumption is the factor for high bills
12.Promote instantaneous (tankless) water heaters
13.Promote area heating with space heaters and inserts in conjunction with central heating as a cost sav-ing measure
14.Half-Day Saturday Office & Show-room hours and service calls
Page 8 www.apga.org December 8, 2008
PRESORTEDSTANDARD
U.S. POSTAGEPAID
FAIRFAX, VAPermit No. 6241
PRESORTEDFIRST-CLASSU.S. POSTAGE
PAIDFAIRFAX, VA
Permit No. 6241
AMERICAN PUBLIC GAS ASSOCIATION201 Massachusetts Ave NE Suite C-4Washington, DC 20002
On November 20, the Federal Ener-gy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is-sued a Notice Terminating Proceeding regarding its inquiry into the fuel reten-tion practices of natural gas compa-nies. FERC had begun the inquiry in September 2007 with a Notice of Inqui-ry in which the Commission observed, among other things, that pipelines with fixed fuel retention rates (versus track-ers with true-ups) were substantially over-recovering their actual costs. The Commission stated that one of the primary reasons for abandoning this proceeding was that the “Commission would have to act under NGA Section 5 to require pipelines which currently
have fixed fuel charges established in general section 4 rate cases to adopt trackers and true-up mechanisms. In order to do that, the Commission would have to find that all fixed fuel charges are unjust and unreasonable and that the only just and reasonable method for pipelines to recover fuel costs is through a tracker with a true-up mechanism.” Last November, APGA submitted comments urging the Commission to act promptly under its NGA Sec-tion 5 authority to declare the stated rate approach and the tracker without a true-up approach to be unjust and unreasonable and to require that the
affected pipelines file a tracker with a true-up mechanism to collect fuel use costs. APGA has maintained that pipelines should not be permitted to over-collect, often times substantially, their fuel use costs. During the Com-mission’s discussion on this proceed-ing, four of the five Commissioners, including Chairman Kelliher, spoke up in regard to the need for legislative re-form of Section 5 of the Natural Gas Act. If you have any questions on this article, please contact Dave Schryver by email at [email protected] or by phone at 202-464-2742.
