Coordination Between Natural Gas and Electricity Markets; Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference, 50684-50686 [2012-20596]
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50684
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 163 / Wednesday, August 22, 2012 / Notices
Dated: August 15, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012–20598 Filed 8–21–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. AD12–12–000]
Coordination Between Natural Gas and
Electricity Markets; Supplemental
Notice of Technical Conference
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
As announced in the Notices issued
on July 5, 2012 1 and July 17, 2012,2 the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission) staff will hold a technical
conference on Thursday, August 23,
2012, from 9:00 a.m. to approximately
4:45 p.m. local time to discuss gaselectric coordination issues in the
Southeast region.3 The agenda and list
of roundtable participants for this
conference is attached. This conference
is free of charge and open to the public.
Commission members may participate
in the conference.
The Southeast region technical
conference will be held at the following
venue: Commission Headquarters, 888
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.
If you have not already done so, those
who plan to attend the Southeast region
technical conference are strongly
encouraged to complete the registration
form located at: www.ferc.gov/whatsnew/registration/nat-gas-elec-mktsform.asp. There is no deadline to
register to attend the conference. The
dress code for the conference will be
business casual. The agenda and
1 Coordination between Natural Gas and
Electricity Markets, Docket No. AD12–12–000 (July
5, 2012) (Notice of Technical Conferences) (https://
elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/
opennat.asp?fileID=13023450); 77 Fed. Reg. 41184
(July 12, 2012) (https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR–
2012–07–12/pdf/2012–16997.pdf).
2 Coordination between Natural Gas and
Electricity Markets, Docket No. AD12–12–000 (July
17, 2012) (Supplemental Notice of Technical
Conferences) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/
common/opennat.asp?fileID=13029403).
3 As indicated in the July 5, 2012 notice, for
purposes of this technical conference, the Southeast
region includes Southern Company, Duke and
Progress Energy, TVA, and other areas south of PJM
Interconnection, L.L.C. and East of Southwest
Power Pool, Inc. and Electric Reliability Council of
Texas.
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:53 Aug 21, 2012
Jkt 226001
roundtable participants for the
remaining technical conferences will be
issued in supplemental notices at later
dates.
The Southeast region technical
conference will not be transcribed.
However, there will be a free webcast of
the conference. The webcast will allow
persons to listen to the Southeast region
technical conference, but not
participate. Anyone with Internet access
who desires to listen to the Southeast
region conference can do so by
navigating to www.ferc.gov’s Calendar of
Events and locating the Southeast region
technical conference in the Calendar.
The Southeast region technical
conference will contain a link to its
webcast. The Capitol Connection
provides technical support for the
webcast and offers the option of
listening to the meeting via phonebridge for a fee. If you have any
questions, visit
www.CapitolConnection.org or call 703–
993–3100.4
Information on this and the other
regional technical conferences will also
be posted on the Web site www.ferc.gov/
industries/electric/indus-act/electriccoord.asp, as well as the Calendar of
Events on the Commission’s Web site
www.ferc.gov. Changes to the agenda or
list of roundtable participants for the
Southeast region technical conference, if
any, will be posted on the Web site
www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indusact/electric-coord.asp prior to the
conference.
Commission conferences are
accessible under section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For
accessibility accommodations, please
send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov
or call toll free 1–866–208–3372 (voice)
or 202–208–1659 (TTY), or send a FAX
to 202–208–2106 with the required
accommodations.
For more information about this and
the other regional technical conferences,
please contact:
Pamela Silberstein, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
(202) 502–8938,
Pamela.Silberstein@ferc.gov.
Sarah McKinley, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
(202) 502–8004,
Sarah.McKinley@ferc.gov.
4 The
webcast will continue to be available on the
Calendar of Events on the Commission’s Web site
www.ferc.gov for three months after the conference.
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Dated: August 15, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
Coordination Between Natural Gas and
Electricity Markets
Docket No. AD12–12–000
Southeast Region- August 23, 2012
FERC Headquarters, Washington, DC
Agenda
9:00–9:15 Welcome and Opening
Remarks
9:15–9:45 Regional Energy
Infrastructure Presentation (FERC
staff)
9:45–11:45 First Roundtable
Discussion: Gas-Electric
Coordination in the Southeast
There has been significant growth in
the Southeast region’s use of gas as fuel
for electricity generation. By some
accounts, the Southeast now leads the
country both in the total volume of
electric generation gas demand, and as
a percentage of total US gas burn.5
Given this rapid increase in gas demand
for electricity generation, the region’s
electric and gas entities may face future
operational challenges involving
coincident peaks, the flexibility of
pipeline services, and infrastructure
adequacy.
Roundtable participants are
encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. How do Southeastern electric
utilities’ scheduling and commitment
practices align with the NAESB
standard natural gas pipeline business
practices? How do the region’s utilities
and generators manage the risks
associated with differences in the daily
practices from one industry to the next?
2. Given the significant percentage of
gas demand for industrial use in this
region, as well as the growth in electric
generation gas demand, how is the
adequacy of gas infrastructure
evaluated? Are there ways the region
can better deploy existing capacity to
meet demand growth?
3. What types of services offered by
natural gas pipelines and storage
5 See, e.g., Energy Information Administration,
Electricity Monthly Update, July 26, 2012, https://
www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/
resource_use.cfm.
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
EN22AU12.025
These meetings are open to the
public.
For more information, contact Peter
Nagler, Office of Energy Market
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission at (202) 502–6083 or
peter.nagler@ferc.gov.
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 163 / Wednesday, August 22, 2012 / Notices
providers in the Southeast best meet the
needs of gas-fired generators in the
region? Would generators in the region
like to see additional flexibility in
pipeline services, and if so, what kind?
Do other pipeline shippers need
additional flexibility in pipeline
services, and if so, what kind? What
would gas pipelines and storage
providers need to be able to provide
such additional flexibility?
4. How are pipelines managing the
growth in electric generation demand
from an operational standpoint? Is there
a need for different pipeline operational
management tools, such as a different
imbalance management mechanism or
penalty structure, for gas-fired
generation as opposed to other pipeline
shippers?
5. Do pipelines in this region offer
additional nomination opportunities
beyond the four NAESB nomination
cycles? If so, are such offerings available
to both firm and interruptible shippers?
What are the costs of providing
additional nomination opportunities?
Are there impacts to natural gas end
users?
11:45–1:15 Break
1:15–2:30 Second Roundtable
Discussion: Communications/
Coordination/Information-Sharing
Several commenters suggest that
communication and coordination issues
may differ between the regions, and
therefore are more appropriately
addressed on a regional basis. Given the
region’s risk for severe weather, the
increase in the use of gas to fuel electric
generation in the Southeast, and the
proximity of natural gas supplies, gas
and electric entities in the Southeast
may need to address communication
and coordination issues that affect both
real time and near-real time operations
and outage planning for both gas and
electric systems, as well as long term gas
and electric planning and coordination.
Roundtable participants are
encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. How is coordination and
information-sharing regarding both
emergency and planned outages
handled by affected gas and electric
entities? Are improvements needed?
Please describe what kind of
coordination and information is shared
and with whom in preparation for
extreme events that simultaneously and
significantly affect both the gas and
electric sectors. Are there any
limitations on communication that seem
unnecessarily restrictive? Should
entities coordinate weather forecasts?
2. What is the impact of electric
system outages upon the gas system,
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16:53 Aug 21, 2012
Jkt 226001
and vice versa? Will the Pipeline Safety,
Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation
Act of 2011 impose new requirements
upon inter-industry communication and
coordination? If so, how are the
industries planning for those new
requirements?
3. Are there particular communication
and coordination challenges associated
with managing the expected increase in
use of natural gas for electric
generation? If so, are improvements
needed and who should be responsible
for implementing improvements?
4. Given the extent to which gas-fired
generation dominates the Florida
generation portfolio, and also
considering the high utilization factors
of pipelines such as Florida Gas
Transmission and Gulfstream especially
during the summer months, how do the
utilities in Florida manage
communications and coordination, both
day-to-day and during extreme events?
2:30–2:45 Break
2:45–4:15 Third Roundtable
Discussion: Reliability
The bulk electric system is typically
planned, as required by the mandatory
reliability standards, to meet projected
customer demands and system
performance criteria, even under single
element contingency conditions.
Interstate natural gas pipelines are
planned and expanded to meet firm gas
delivery contracts between the pipelines
and one or more shippers. As noted, the
Southeast will be experiencing a
significantly increased reliance on
natural gas generation in the coming
years. This may serve to highlight
concerns about the future reliability and
interdependencies of the bulk electric
system and the interstate natural gas
pipeline system as the amount of
natural gas-fired generation increases.
Roundtable participants are
encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. Has any entity in the Southeast
region performed any kind of
assessment regarding the region’s
natural gas pipeline capacity, taking
into account present and future electric
generation needs? If not, is such a study
needed? If so, who would undertake it?
Are additional, coordinated studies of
the natural gas and electric systems
needed to analyze forecasted resource
mix and/or interdependency risks from
curtailments or contingencies? Can this
issue be addressed through existing
transmission planning processes? If not,
is a different process needed?
2. A number of commenters in other
regions referred to recent functional
exercises that allowed participants from
the natural gas and electric industries,
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
50685
as well as state regulators, to assess
emergency response plans and provided
a forum to discuss and implement
improvements.6 Given its experience
with hurricanes and other extreme
weather events, are sufficient emergency
coordination procedures in place in the
Southeast? Does the growth in the use
of gas for electric generation mean that
more coordination or other advance
preparations are needed, especially for
extreme weather events?
3. To what extent do pipelines in the
Southeast region rely upon electric
compression? Is this reliance likely to
change in the future, and if so, how?
What would be the impact, if any, of an
electricity outage upon the pipeline’s
deliverability? Do pipelines study risk
of loss of electricity? If so, how do the
results of such study affect operational
planning?
4:15–4:45 Closing
Roundtable Participants:
Dave Ciarlone, Manager, Global Energy
Services, Alcoa (on behalf of
Process Gas Consumers)
Valerie Crockett, Senior Program
Manager, Regulatory & Policy, TVA
Mark Evans, Vice President, North
American Gas & Power, BG Group
Frank Ferazzi, Senior Vice President &
General Manager, WGP East,
Williams Gas Pipeline
Michael Frey, Vice President, Gas
Supply & Operations, Municipal
Gas Authority of Georgia (on behalf
of APGA)
Paul Greenwood, Manager for Americas
Gas Marketing, ExxonMobil Gas &
Power Marketing (on behalf of
Natural Gas Supply Association)
Laura Heckman, Director, Business
Development, Kinder Morgan
Greg Henderson, President & CEO,
Southeast Alabama Gas District
David Jewell, Senior Vice President, Gas
Systems & Capacity Planning,
CenterPoint Energy
Keith Maust, Manager Director-Gas
Supply and Scheduling, Piedmont
Natural Gas Company, Inc.
Michael McMahon, Senior Vice
President and General Counsel,
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP
Wayne Moore, Compliance Officer and
Vice President, Southern Company
Carl Haga, Gas Services Director,
Southern Company
John Moura, Associate Director,
Reliability Assessment, NERC
Eric Senkowicz, Director of Operations,
Florida Reliability Coordinating
Council
6 See, e.g., Texas Pipeline Association March 30,
2012 Comments at 2 (responding to Commissioner
Moeller’s February 3, 2012 Request for Comments).
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
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50686
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 163 / Wednesday, August 22, 2012 / Notices
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of final action.
This notice announces that
the Navajo Nation Environmental
Protection Agency (‘‘NNEPA’’), acting
with authority from the United States
Environmental Protection Agency
(‘‘EPA’’) delegated pursuant to 40 C.F.R.
Part 71, has issued a federal Clean Air
Act Title V operating permit to Peabody
Western Coal Company (‘‘Peabody’’)
governing air emissions from Peabody’s
mining operation at the Kayenta Mine,
Black Mesa Complex in Arizona on the
reservation of the Navajo Nation.
DATES: NNEPA, acting as EPA’s
delegate, issued notice of a final permit
decision on May 21, 2012. Certain
portions of the permit became effective
on April 14, 2011. All other provisions
of the permit became effective on March
13, 2012 after the Environmental
Appeals Board denied Peabody’s
petition for review. Pursuant to section
307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C.
7607(b)(1), judicial review of this permit
decision, to the extent it is available,
may be sought by filing a petition for
review in the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit by
October 22, 2012.
ADDRESSES: The documents relevant to
the above-referenced permits are
available for public inspection during
normal business hours at the following
address: U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105. To arrange for
viewing of these documents call Roger
Kohn at (415) 972–3973.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Roger Kohn, Air Division Permits
Office, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street,
San Francisco, CA 94105.
Charlene Nelson, Navajo Nation Air
Quality Control Program, Operating
Permits Section, P.O. Box 529, Fort
Defiance, AZ 86504.
Anyone who wishes to review the EPA
Environmental Appeals Board decision
described below can obtain it at https://
www.epa.gov/eab/.
Notice of Final Action and
Supplementary Information: NNEPA
issued notice of a final revised permit
decision to Peabody for its surface coal
mining operations on the Navajo
reservation, Title V Operating Permit
No. NN–OP 08–010 (‘‘Peabody permit’’),
on May 21, 2012. The Peabody revised
permit was initially issued by NNEPA
on April 14, 2011. EPA’s Environmental
Appeals Board (‘‘EAB’’) received a
petition for review by Peabody of this
revised permit on May 16, 2011. On
March 13, 2012, the EAB issued an
order denying review of the petition.
See In re Peabody Western Coal
Company, CAA Appeal No. 11–01 (EAB
March 13, 2012) (Order Denying
Petition for Review). The petition
challenged, among other things,
NNEPA’s use of tribal law in issuing the
permit and inclusion in the permit for
conditions III(B), IV(C), IV(D), IV(E),
IV(G), IV(H), IV(I), IV(K), IV(L), and
IV(Q) tribal law citations in parallel
with the federally enforceable 40 C.F.R.
Part 71 requirements. After the EAB’s
denial of review, Peabody filed a motion
with the EAB for reconsideration, which
was denied on April 17, 2012. Pursuant
to 40 C.F.R. 71.11(l)(5) and 124.19(f)(1),
final agency action by EPA has occurred
because agency review procedures
before the EAB have been exhausted
and NNEPA has issued a final permit
decision.
Dated: August 8, 2012.
Deborah Jordan,
Director, Air Division, Region IX.
Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended.
EPA is publishing this Notice of such
applications, pursuant to section 3(c)(4)
of FIFRA.
DATES: Comments must be received on
or before September 21, 2012.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by docket identification (ID)
number EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0390 by
one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the online
instructions for submitting comments.
Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
restricted by statute.
• Mail: OPP Docket, Environmental
Protection Agency Docket Center (EPA/
DC), Mail Code: 28221T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington,
DC 20460–0001.
• Hand Delivery: To make special
arrangements for hand delivery or
delivery of boxed information, please
follow the instructions at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets/contacts.htm.
Additional instructions on
commenting or visiting the docket,
along with more information about
dockets generally, is available at https://
www.epa.gov/dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A
contact person is listed at the end of
each registration application summary
and may be contacted by telephone or
email. The mailing address for each
contact person listed is Registration
Division (7505P), Office of Pesticide
Programs, Environmental Protection
Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.,
Washington, DC 20460–0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. General Information
Donald Sipe, PretiFlaherty (on behalf of
American Forest and Paper
Association)
Richard Smead, Director, Navigant
Consulting, Inc. (on behalf of
America’s Natural Gas Alliance)
Andrew Soto, Senior Managing Counsel,
American Gas Association
[FR Doc. 2012–20596 Filed 8–21–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[FRL–9717–6]
Notice of Approval of Title V Operating
Permit for Peabody Western Coal
Company (Navajo Nation EPA No. NN–
OP 08–010)
AGENCY:
mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
SUMMARY:
VerDate Mar<15>2010
16:53 Aug 21, 2012
Jkt 226001
A. Does this action apply to me?
[FR Doc. 2012–20654 Filed 8–21–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OPP–2012–0390; FRL–9358–2]
Pesticide Products; Receipt of
Applications To Register New Uses
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This notice announces receipt
of applications to register new uses for
pesticide products containing currently
registered active ingredients, pursuant
to the provisions of section 3(c) of the
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
You may be potentially affected by
this action if you are an agricultural
producer, food manufacturer, or
pesticide manufacturer. Potentially
affected entities may include, but are
not limited to:
• Crop production (NAICS code 111).
• Animal production (NAICS code
112).
• Food manufacturing (NAICS code
311).
• Pesticide manufacturing (NAICS
code 32532).
This listing is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
affected by this action. Other types of
entities not listed in this unit could also
be affected. The North American
E:\FR\FM\22AUN1.SGM
22AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50684-50686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20596]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. AD12-12-000]
Coordination Between Natural Gas and Electricity Markets;
Supplemental Notice of Technical Conference
As announced in the Notices issued on July 5, 2012 \1\ and July 17,
2012,\2\ the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) staff
will hold a technical conference on Thursday, August 23, 2012, from
9:00 a.m. to approximately 4:45 p.m. local time to discuss gas-electric
coordination issues in the Southeast region.\3\ The agenda and list of
roundtable participants for this conference is attached. This
conference is free of charge and open to the public. Commission members
may participate in the conference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Coordination between Natural Gas and Electricity Markets,
Docket No. AD12-12-000 (July 5, 2012) (Notice of Technical
Conferences) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=13023450); 77 Fed. Reg. 41184 (July 12, 2012)
(https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-07-12/pdf/2012-16997.pdf).
\2\ Coordination between Natural Gas and Electricity Markets,
Docket No. AD12-12-000 (July 17, 2012) (Supplemental Notice of
Technical Conferences) (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/common/opennat.asp?fileID=13029403).
\3\ As indicated in the July 5, 2012 notice, for purposes of
this technical conference, the Southeast region includes Southern
Company, Duke and Progress Energy, TVA, and other areas south of PJM
Interconnection, L.L.C. and East of Southwest Power Pool, Inc. and
Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Southeast region technical conference will be held at the
following venue: Commission Headquarters, 888 First Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20426.
If you have not already done so, those who plan to attend the
Southeast region technical conference are strongly encouraged to
complete the registration form located at: www.ferc.gov/whats-new/registration/nat-gas-elec-mkts-form.asp. There is no deadline to
register to attend the conference. The dress code for the conference
will be business casual. The agenda and roundtable participants for the
remaining technical conferences will be issued in supplemental notices
at later dates.
The Southeast region technical conference will not be transcribed.
However, there will be a free webcast of the conference. The webcast
will allow persons to listen to the Southeast region technical
conference, but not participate. Anyone with Internet access who
desires to listen to the Southeast region conference can do so by
navigating to www.ferc.gov's Calendar of Events and locating the
Southeast region technical conference in the Calendar. The Southeast
region technical conference will contain a link to its webcast. The
Capitol Connection provides technical support for the webcast and
offers the option of listening to the meeting via phone-bridge for a
fee. If you have any questions, visit www.CapitolConnection.org or call
703-993-3100.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ The webcast will continue to be available on the Calendar of
Events on the Commission's Web site www.ferc.gov for three months
after the conference.
_____________________________________-
Information on this and the other regional technical conferences
will also be posted on the Web site www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/electric-coord.asp, as well as the Calendar of Events on the
Commission's Web site www.ferc.gov. Changes to the agenda or list of
roundtable participants for the Southeast region technical conference,
if any, will be posted on the Web site www.ferc.gov/industries/electric/indus-act/electric-coord.asp prior to the conference.
Commission conferences are accessible under section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For accessibility accommodations, please
send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov or call toll free 1-866-208-
3372 (voice) or 202-208-1659 (TTY), or send a FAX to 202-208-2106 with
the required accommodations.
For more information about this and the other regional technical
conferences, please contact:
Pamela Silberstein, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8938,
Pamela.Silberstein@ferc.gov.
Sarah McKinley, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8004, Sarah.McKinley@ferc.gov.
Dated: August 15, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22AU12.025
Coordination Between Natural Gas and Electricity Markets
Docket No. AD12-12-000
Southeast Region- August 23, 2012
FERC Headquarters, Washington, DC
Agenda
9:00-9:15 Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:15-9:45 Regional Energy Infrastructure Presentation (FERC staff)
9:45-11:45 First Roundtable Discussion: Gas-Electric Coordination in
the Southeast
There has been significant growth in the Southeast region's use of
gas as fuel for electricity generation. By some accounts, the Southeast
now leads the country both in the total volume of electric generation
gas demand, and as a percentage of total US gas burn.\5\ Given this
rapid increase in gas demand for electricity generation, the region's
electric and gas entities may face future operational challenges
involving coincident peaks, the flexibility of pipeline services, and
infrastructure adequacy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ See, e.g., Energy Information Administration, Electricity
Monthly Update, July 26, 2012, https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/resource_use.cfm.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roundtable participants are encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. How do Southeastern electric utilities' scheduling and
commitment practices align with the NAESB standard natural gas pipeline
business practices? How do the region's utilities and generators manage
the risks associated with differences in the daily practices from one
industry to the next?
2. Given the significant percentage of gas demand for industrial
use in this region, as well as the growth in electric generation gas
demand, how is the adequacy of gas infrastructure evaluated? Are there
ways the region can better deploy existing capacity to meet demand
growth?
3. What types of services offered by natural gas pipelines and
storage
[[Page 50685]]
providers in the Southeast best meet the needs of gas-fired generators
in the region? Would generators in the region like to see additional
flexibility in pipeline services, and if so, what kind? Do other
pipeline shippers need additional flexibility in pipeline services, and
if so, what kind? What would gas pipelines and storage providers need
to be able to provide such additional flexibility?
4. How are pipelines managing the growth in electric generation
demand from an operational standpoint? Is there a need for different
pipeline operational management tools, such as a different imbalance
management mechanism or penalty structure, for gas-fired generation as
opposed to other pipeline shippers?
5. Do pipelines in this region offer additional nomination
opportunities beyond the four NAESB nomination cycles? If so, are such
offerings available to both firm and interruptible shippers? What are
the costs of providing additional nomination opportunities? Are there
impacts to natural gas end users?
11:45-1:15 Break
1:15-2:30 Second Roundtable Discussion: Communications/Coordination/
Information-Sharing
Several commenters suggest that communication and coordination
issues may differ between the regions, and therefore are more
appropriately addressed on a regional basis. Given the region's risk
for severe weather, the increase in the use of gas to fuel electric
generation in the Southeast, and the proximity of natural gas supplies,
gas and electric entities in the Southeast may need to address
communication and coordination issues that affect both real time and
near-real time operations and outage planning for both gas and electric
systems, as well as long term gas and electric planning and
coordination.
Roundtable participants are encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. How is coordination and information-sharing regarding both
emergency and planned outages handled by affected gas and electric
entities? Are improvements needed? Please describe what kind of
coordination and information is shared and with whom in preparation for
extreme events that simultaneously and significantly affect both the
gas and electric sectors. Are there any limitations on communication
that seem unnecessarily restrictive? Should entities coordinate weather
forecasts?
2. What is the impact of electric system outages upon the gas
system, and vice versa? Will the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty
and Job Creation Act of 2011 impose new requirements upon inter-
industry communication and coordination? If so, how are the industries
planning for those new requirements?
3. Are there particular communication and coordination challenges
associated with managing the expected increase in use of natural gas
for electric generation? If so, are improvements needed and who should
be responsible for implementing improvements?
4. Given the extent to which gas-fired generation dominates the
Florida generation portfolio, and also considering the high utilization
factors of pipelines such as Florida Gas Transmission and Gulfstream
especially during the summer months, how do the utilities in Florida
manage communications and coordination, both day-to-day and during
extreme events?
2:30-2:45 Break
2:45-4:15 Third Roundtable Discussion: Reliability
The bulk electric system is typically planned, as required by the
mandatory reliability standards, to meet projected customer demands and
system performance criteria, even under single element contingency
conditions. Interstate natural gas pipelines are planned and expanded
to meet firm gas delivery contracts between the pipelines and one or
more shippers. As noted, the Southeast will be experiencing a
significantly increased reliance on natural gas generation in the
coming years. This may serve to highlight concerns about the future
reliability and interdependencies of the bulk electric system and the
interstate natural gas pipeline system as the amount of natural gas-
fired generation increases.
Roundtable participants are encouraged to be prepared to respond to
the following:
1. Has any entity in the Southeast region performed any kind of
assessment regarding the region's natural gas pipeline capacity, taking
into account present and future electric generation needs? If not, is
such a study needed? If so, who would undertake it? Are additional,
coordinated studies of the natural gas and electric systems needed to
analyze forecasted resource mix and/or interdependency risks from
curtailments or contingencies? Can this issue be addressed through
existing transmission planning processes? If not, is a different
process needed?
2. A number of commenters in other regions referred to recent
functional exercises that allowed participants from the natural gas and
electric industries, as well as state regulators, to assess emergency
response plans and provided a forum to discuss and implement
improvements.\6\ Given its experience with hurricanes and other extreme
weather events, are sufficient emergency coordination procedures in
place in the Southeast? Does the growth in the use of gas for electric
generation mean that more coordination or other advance preparations
are needed, especially for extreme weather events?
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\6\ See, e.g., Texas Pipeline Association March 30, 2012
Comments at 2 (responding to Commissioner Moeller's February 3, 2012
Request for Comments).
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3. To what extent do pipelines in the Southeast region rely upon
electric compression? Is this reliance likely to change in the future,
and if so, how? What would be the impact, if any, of an electricity
outage upon the pipeline's deliverability? Do pipelines study risk of
loss of electricity? If so, how do the results of such study affect
operational planning?
4:15-4:45 Closing
Roundtable Participants:
Dave Ciarlone, Manager, Global Energy Services, Alcoa (on behalf of
Process Gas Consumers)
Valerie Crockett, Senior Program Manager, Regulatory & Policy, TVA
Mark Evans, Vice President, North American Gas & Power, BG Group
Frank Ferazzi, Senior Vice President & General Manager, WGP East,
Williams Gas Pipeline
Michael Frey, Vice President, Gas Supply & Operations, Municipal Gas
Authority of Georgia (on behalf of APGA)
Paul Greenwood, Manager for Americas Gas Marketing, ExxonMobil Gas &
Power Marketing (on behalf of Natural Gas Supply Association)
Laura Heckman, Director, Business Development, Kinder Morgan
Greg Henderson, President & CEO, Southeast Alabama Gas District
David Jewell, Senior Vice President, Gas Systems & Capacity Planning,
CenterPoint Energy
Keith Maust, Manager Director-Gas Supply and Scheduling, Piedmont
Natural Gas Company, Inc.
Michael McMahon, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Boardwalk
Pipeline Partners, LP
Wayne Moore, Compliance Officer and Vice President, Southern Company
Carl Haga, Gas Services Director, Southern Company
John Moura, Associate Director, Reliability Assessment, NERC
Eric Senkowicz, Director of Operations, Florida Reliability
Coordinating Council
[[Page 50686]]
Donald Sipe, PretiFlaherty (on behalf of American Forest and Paper
Association)
Richard Smead, Director, Navigant Consulting, Inc. (on behalf of
America's Natural Gas Alliance)
Andrew Soto, Senior Managing Counsel, American Gas Association
[FR Doc. 2012-20596 Filed 8-21-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P