Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 18, 2001 / Notices 65193

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket No. ES02–14–000]

Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc.

Notice of Filing

December 11, 2001.

Take notice that on November 30,

2001, Orange and Rockland Utilities,

Inc. (O&R) filed an application for an

order, pursuant to section 204 of the

Federal Power Act, authorizing O&R

during the period from the date of the

order through December 31, 2003 to

issue and sell unsecured evidences of

indebtedness maturing not more than

twelve months after their date of issue

up to an amount not in excess of $150

million at any one time outstanding.

Any person desiring to be heard or to

protest such filing should file a motion

to intervene or protest with the Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888

First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426,

in accordance with Rules 211 and 214

of the Commission’s rules of practice

and procedure (18 CFR 385.211 and

385.214). All such motions and protests

should be filed on or before December

21, 2001. Protests will be considered by

the Commission to determine the

appropriate action to be taken, but will

not serve to make protestants parties to

the proceedings. Any person wishing to

become a party must file a motion to

intervene. Copies of this filing are on

file with the Commission and are

available for public inspection. This

filing may also be viewed on the web at

http://www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘RIMS’’

link, select ‘‘Docket#’’ and follow the

instructions (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance). Comments, protests and

interventions may be filed electronically

via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18

CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the

instructions on the Commission’s Web

site under the ‘‘e-Filing’’ link.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–31066 Filed 12–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Docket Nos. CP02–39–000, CP02–40–000,

CP02–41–000, and CP02–42–000]

Pacific Gas and Electric Company;

Standard Pacific Gas Line

Incorporated; GTrans LLC; PG&E Gas

Transmission, Northwest Corporation;

Notice of Applications

December 11, 2001.

Take notice that on November 30,

2001, Pacific Gas and Electric Company

(PG&E), Standard Pacific Gas Line

Incorporated (Stanpac), GTrans LLC

(GTrans), and PG&E Gas Transmission,

Northwest Corporation (GTN),

(collectively referred to as Applicants),

filed in Docket Nos. CP02–39–000,

CP02–40–000, CP02–41–000, and CP02–

42–000, pursuant to sections 7(b) and

7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and

parts 157 and 284 of the Federal Energy

Regulatory Commission’s (Commission)

regulations, for a series of authorizations

that, taken together, will permit them to

extend PG&E’s existing intrastate

natural gas transmission system to a

new market center located in the State

of Oregon, near Malin, Oregon, thereby

integrating PG&E’s transmission and

storage systems into the interstate

pipeline grid and bringing them under

FERC regulation, all as more fully set

forth in the application, which is on file

with the Commission and open to

public inspection. This filing may also

be viewed on the web at http://

www.ferc.gov using the ‘‘RIMS’’ link,

select ‘‘Docket #’’ and follow the

instructions (call 202–208–2222 for

assistance).

Applicants state that currently:

• PG&E is an integrated utility

providing retail electric and natural gas

service to millions of customers in

California. As part of its utility

operations, PG&E owns and operates an

extensive intrastate natural gas

transmission system in northern

California which is regulated by the

Public Utilities Commission of the State

of California (CPUC) pursuant to the

Hinshaw exemption to the Natural Gas

Act. PG&E recently filed a voluntary

petition for bankruptcy on April 6.

• Stanpac owns a Hinshaw pipeline

(the Stanpac Assets) in California which

is operated by PG&E pursuant to a

March 28, 1996 Stanpac System

Management and Operating Agreement

(Stanpac System Agreement).

• GTN is an interstate pipeline

extending from the U.S.-Canada border,

through the states of Idaho, Washington

and Oregon, to the California-Oregon

border where it currently interconnects

with PG&E’s natural gas transmission

system.

• GTrans is a newly created entity

formed for the purpose of owning and

operating an interstate natural gas

pipeline system that will result from the

integration of PG&E’s gas transmission

system with an interstate pipeline

segment to be acquired from GTN.

The Applicants seek approval for

PG&E’s reorganization into an interstate

pipeline as part of its plan to emerge

from bankruptcy. As such, the

Applicants indicate that their requests

for Commission action and their

acceptance of the requested

authorizations are conditioned upon

bankruptcy court approval. They further

submit that formation of the new

interstate pipeline system will, among

other things: (i) create a new market

center at Malin, Oregon, where GTN,

Tuscarora Gas Transmission Company

(Tuscarora) and GTrans will

interconnect at a single point, (ii)

standardize the terms and conditions for

transportation of natural gas in northern

California with the interstate pipeline

grid, and (iii) facilitate future pipeline

expansions within and outside the State

of California.

Applicants propose a limited

transition period during which GTrans

will offer service under rates, terms and

conditions that are virtually identical to

PG&E’s existing CPUC-approved rates,

terms and conditions, including the

rates, terms and conditions for openaccess transportation and storage

approved by the CPUC in the Gas

Accord settlement. Applicants propose

that the transition period end on the

date that FERC accepts a section 4 filing

to be made by GTrans no later than 14

months after GTrans accepts its

requested certificate. In that section 4

filing, GTrans will propose to amend its

open-access tariff to comply with all

Commission regulations and policies

applicable to open-access pipelines.

Subject to certain priority rights for

service to the reorganized PG&E and

certain existing customers of PG&E

under pre-existing, CPUC-authorized

long-term contracts, GTrans proposes to

hold an open season to award capacity

to be taken under the rates, terms and

conditions in the section 4 filing.

Specifically, the Applicants request

that the Commission take the following

actions:

• Issue a certificate of public

convenience and necessity authorizing

PG&E to acquire from GTN a segment of

existing pipeline approximately three

miles in length beginning at the existing

interconnection between GTN and

PG&E’s transmission system, extending

65194 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 243 / Tuesday, December 18, 2001 / Notices

north across the California-Oregon

border and ending at the

interconnection between GTN and

Tuscarora near Malin, Oregon (the

Oregon Segment) and to integrate it with

PG&E’s existing gas transmission system

(the result of this combination being the

GTrans Assets);

• Issue a certificate of public

convenience and necessity authorizing

GTrans to acquire the GTrans Assets

from PG&E;

• Issue a blanket certificate under

part 284, subpart G of the Commission’s

regulations authorizing GTrans to

operate the GTrans Assets and the

Stanpac Assets as an integrated

interstate pipeline system and to

provide open-access interstate

transportation and storage services to

customers within and outside

California, including service to the

reorganized PG&E;

• Issue a certificate of public

convenience and necessity under Part

157 of the Commission’s regulations

authorizing GTrans to assume and

provide service under pre-existing,

CPUC-authorized long-term PG&E

transportation contracts with (i) Line

401 expansion shippers, (ii) expedited

application docket (EAD) customers,

(iii) enhanced oil recovery (EOR)

customers; (iv) Crockett Cogeneration;

and (v) the Sacramento Municipal

Utility District (SMUD);

• Issue a blanket construction

certificate to GTrans under 18 CFR part

157, subpart F;

• Issue a certificate of public

convenience and necessity under part

157 of the Commission’s regulations

authorizing Stanpac to provide

transportation service to Chevron and

GTrans pursuant to the Stanpac System

Agreement;

• Adopt and approve the rates, terms

and conditions set forth in GTrans’

proposed FERC Gas Tariff and the

individual rate schedules attached in

Exhibit P to the Application as initial

rates, terms and conditions for GTrans

service under section 7 of the NGA and

grant such waivers as are necessary to

permit GTrans to offer service under

such rates, terms and conditions;

• Authorize GTN to abandon the

Oregon Segment by sale to PG&E;

• Authorize PG&E to abandon the

GTrans Assets by transfer to GTrans;

• Grant Stanpac a waiver of the filing

and reporting obligations and the openaccess requirements ordinarily imposed

on natural gas companies;

• Grant Stanpac a waiver of the

‘‘shipper-must-have-title’’ rule to permit

GTrans to use Stanpac capacity to

transport gas owned by GTrans shippers

on the Stanpac system under GTrans

contracts and tariffs;

• Grant GTrans a limited waiver of

the ‘‘shipper-must-have-title’’ rule to

permit the reorganized PG&E, during the

transition period, to use GTrans

transportation capacity to transport

customer-owned gas for the reorganized

PG&E’s noncore transportation

customers;

• Rescind PG&E’s existing limitedjurisdiction certificate under § 284.224

of the Commission’s regulations;

• Rescind the declarations of

exemption under the Hinshaw

Amendment granted to Stanpac in

Docket No. CP86–666–000 and to PG&E

in Docket No. G–2489;

• Pregrant the abandonment of

services under PG&E’s existing Gas

Accord transportation and storage

contracts at the end of their contract

terms and authorize GTrans to provide

service under interim contracts for the

remainder of the transition period,

while reserving the capacity underlying

such interim contracts for award in the

open season; and

• Waive the requirement that

Applicants accept their certificates

within thirty days and grant such other

waivers and other and further relief as

may be proper and appropriate.

Any questions regarding this

application may be directed to Donald

K. Dankner, attorney for the Applicants,

Winston & Strawn, 1400 L Street, NW.,

Washington, DC 20005, at (202) 371–

5700, fax (202) 371–5950, or E-mail:

ddankner@winston.com.

There are two ways to become

involved in the Commission’s review of

this project. First, any person wishing to

obtain legal status by becoming a party

to the proceedings for this project

should, on or before January 29, 2002

file with the Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission, 888 First Street, NE.,

Washington, DC 20426, a motion to

intervene in accordance with the

requirements of the Commission’s rules

of practice and procedure (18 CFR

385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations

under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A

person obtaining party status will be

placed on the service list maintained by

the Secretary of the Commission and

will receive copies of all documents

filed by the applicant and by all other

parties. A party must submit 14 copies

of filings made with the Commission

and must mail a copy to the applicant

and to every other party in the

proceeding. Only parties to the

proceeding can ask for court review of

Commission orders in the proceeding.

However, a person does not have to

intervene in order to have comments

considered. The second way to

participate is by filing with the

Secretary of the Commission, as soon as

possible, an original and two copies of

comments in support of or in opposition

to this project. The Commission will

consider these comments in

determining the appropriate action to be

taken, but the filing of a comment alone

will not serve to make the filer a party

to the proceeding. The Commission’s

rules require that persons filing

comments in opposition to the project

provide copies of their protests only to

the party or parties directly involved in

the protest.

Comments, protests and interventions

may be filed electronically via the

Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR

385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions

on the Commission’s Web site under the

‘‘e-Filing’’ link.

If the Commission decides to set the

application for a formal hearing before

an Administrative Law Judge, the

Commission will issue another notice

describing that process. At the end of

the Commission’s review process, a

final Commission order approving or

denying a certificate will be issued.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,

Acting Secretary.

[FR Doc. 01–31062 Filed 12–17–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission

[Project No. 1962–038]

Pacific Gas & Electric Company;

Notice Rejecting Request for

Rehearing

December 12, 2001.

By order issued October 24, 2001, the

Commission issued an order approving

the settlement agreement and the

issuing a new license for Rock CreekCresta Hydroelectric Project 1962,

located on the North Fork Feather River

Watershed in Plumas and Butte

Counties, California. 97 FERC ¶ 61,084.

On November 27, 2001, the Baiocchi

Family filed a request for rehearing of

that order.

Under section 313(a) of the Federal

Power Act, 16 USC 825l(a), an aggrieved

party must file a request for rehearing

within thirty days after the issuance of

the Commission’s order, in this case no

later than November 23, 2001. Because

the 30-day rehearing deadline is

statutorily based, it cannot be extended,

and the Baiocchi family’s request for

rehearing must be rejected as untimely.