Add Your Voice to Urge FERC to Secure a Consumer Advocate

We, the undersigned, call on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to create an Office of Consumer Advocate and Public Participation along the following principles:

>>> The office should be organized in a way to maximize independence. Financing for the Office should be clearly allocated to support the activities of the office.

>>> The office must be able to conduct its own investigations and not be limited to the scope of FERC dockets or proceedings.

>>> The office should include authority to provide intervenor funding to consumer groups to encourage their participation in FERC proceedings.

>>> The office should coordinate assistance and outreach to the public with respect to authority exercised by FERC.

>>> The office should have an advisory board composed of representatives of the non-governmental consumer advocacy community, including organizations representing low-income households and the elderly, and both national and state-based consumer organizations.

Please visit this web-site for signature:

http://action.citizen.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12797

Kirk A Bowers, Virginia Chapter, Sierra Club
Pipelines Program Manager, 106 George Rogers Road
Charlottesville, VA 22911
Home (434) 296 8673, Cell (434) 249 1439

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Energy Transfer Equity LP to Acquire the Williams Co. — ‘All About Marcellus Gas Takeaway’

From an Article by Joe Fisher, NGI News, September 28, 2015

Energy Transfer Equity LP (ETE) and The Williams Companies Inc. plan to merge in a $37.7 billion deal, including debt, to make what they say will be the third-largest energy franchise in North America and a top-five global energy company. A big focus of the tie-up will be the Marcellus Shale region.

Energy Transfer’s Jamie Welch, group CFO and head of business development, said the combined companies will have an enterprise value of about $150 billion. “This is a natural gas highway system designed to benefit producers and end-user customers: the connectivity of things like [Energy Transfer's planned Rover Pipeline into [Williams'] Appalachian Connector; the ability to capitalize on [Energy Transfer's] Trunkline and Panhandle [Transmission systems] with Transco [Williams' Transcontinental Gas Pipeline]; the connectivity of [Williams'] Northwest Pipeline with [Energy Transfer's] Transwestern. It goes on and on.”

In the interstate natural gas pipeline area, the big area of focus out of the gate is to be the Marcellus and Utica shale region. “On the interstate side, it’s all about Marcellus natural gas takeaway…” Welch said, noting expansions of Transco, and projects such as Williams’ Constitution Pipeline, Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline, Appalachian Connector and others.

Newly created ETE affiliate Energy Transfer Corp. LP (ETC) will acquire Williams Co. at an implied current price of $43.50/share. Williams stockholders may take cash and/or ETC common shares. In addition, Williams stockholders will be entitled to a special one-time dividend of 10 cents per Williams share prior to the closing of the transaction.

Of great importance to ETE will be the assets Williams Co. holds in the northeastern United States:

>>> Williams’ Susquehanna Supply Hub is being built to serve gas producers in northeastern Pennsylvania. The system has a gathering inlet capacity of about 1 Bcf/d and is connected to three major interstate gas pipeline systems. The Susquehanna Supply Hub is expected to be capable of delivering more than 3 Bcf/d of Marcellus Shale production into four major interstate gas pipeline systems.

>>> The Ohio Valley Midstream system in northern West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio is in the natural gas liquids (NGL)-rich heart of the Marcellus. Assets include a gathering system and a processing facility. Fractionation and additional processing facilities are under construction, with plans to add NGL pipelines.

>>> Williams’ Laurel Mountain Midstream joint venture in southwestern Pennsylvania includes nearly 1,400 miles of pipeline with average throughput of 200 MMcf/d. Williams Partners owns 51% and operates the system. Chevron is the joint venture partner and owns the remaining 49%.

Energy Transfer’s natural gas operations include about 33,000 miles of pipelines; 154 Bcf of gas storage capacity; multiple processing, treating, conditioning and storage facilities, and four NGL facilities. Intrastate transportation and storage assets include about 7,800 miles of gas pipelines and three Texas storage facilities with 74.4 Bcf of working capacity. Interstate gas assets include 18,000 miles of pipelines, one storage facility and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receipt terminal in Lake Charles, LA, where there are plans to add liquefaction and export capability. The NGL transportation and services segment includes about 2,300 miles of pipeline, as well as four processing plants and 48 million bbl of storage capacity.

The company’s proposed Rover Pipeline would carry gas from processing facilities in the Marcellus/Utica shale region to market hubs that have access to the Midwest, Gulf Coast, Canada and the U.S. Northeast.

Welch said the combination also has substantial impact for the NGL businesses. “We will have a fully integrated liquids platform. It is not secret that we’ve obviously spent an inordinate amount of capital and investment, financial and mental acumen in developing our overall NGL business in Mont Belvieu [TX]. “We have now focused more recently on development of the Northeast and in particular are working in conjunction with [Sunoco Logistics] on our Mariner East and Mariner West system…

ETE said it expects that the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from commercial synergies will exceed $2 billion per year by 2020 and will require overall incremental capital investment of more than $5 billion to achieve.