Natural Gas Interchangeability; Notice of Public Conference

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Energy Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [ Docket No. PL04-3-000] 1. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will hold a conference on February 18, 2004, to engage industry members and the public in a dialogue about policy issues arising from natural gas interchangeability. [ 1 ] On October 14, 2003, the Commission held a technical conference on the findings and recommendations contained in the National Petroleum Council's report: Balancing Natural Gas Policy—Fueling the Demands of a Growing Economy . [ 2 ] The Summary Report recommended that the natural gas interchangeability standards be updated: “FERC and DOE should champion the new standards effort to allow a broader range of LNG [liquefied natural gas] imports. This should be conducted with participation from LDCs [local distribution companies], LNG purchasers, process gas users, and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).”  [ 3 ] In addition, the Commission has dealt with gas quality and interchangeability issues in several recent cases, and others are pending. [ 4 ] These cases will not be the subject of the technical conference nor will discussion of them be entertained, due to ex parte considerations. Nevertheless, as a result of the NPC recommendation and concerns about gas interchangeability raised in pending proceedings, it is clear that the Commission needs more information in order to evaluate what role, if any, it should prepare to take to address the impacts o…