Opinion ID: 405902
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The effect of incremental pricing on end-users.15

Text: 39 Evidentiary hearings commenced on 30 October 1979 and continued for nine days. Two additional weeks were permitted for party briefs, and opportunity for oral argument was denied. 40 On 29 December 1979 the agency issued DOE/ERA Opinion No. 11, 16 announcing the ERA's determination that, on balance, the price terms of the Amended Agreement were reasonable and that the LNG importation as revised was not inconsistent with the public interest. 17 The agency thereby approved the amendment to the prior import authorization, conditioned only upon a requirement that the imported LNG would be subject to incremental pricing under rules issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to Title II of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978. 18 Imports beginning 1 January 1980 were base priced, per the contract, at $1.94/MMBtu. 41 As it turned out, the effects of the ERA's approval were short-lived. Deliveries under the contract were unilaterally suspended by the Algerian government around 1 April 1980, when El Paso refused to agree to yet further price increases demanded by Sonatrach. Government-level negotiations are currently underway.