Accordingly, the 30-day comment period for this draft resolution was reduced to 10 days pursuant to these authorities to give interested persons notice and opportunity to comment on the draft prior to a Commission vote. The draft resolution was mailed for comments on November 17, 2017, and will be placed on the Commission's agenda for the November 30, 2017, Commission meeting. FINDINGS On October 1, 2017, Line 235-2 ruptured, damaging a nearby stretch of Line 4000 that had been excavated for maintenance The Line 235-2 and Line 4000 outages, combined with a previous outage on Line 3000, have significantly decreased natural gas import capacity to Southern California. Historically, the Otay Mesa receipt point has been used infrequently. The Otay Mesa receipt point can accept up to 202 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of natural gas on a firm basis and up to 400 MMcfd on high-use days in San Diego. The Southern California Gas Company’s Gas Acquisition Department sent emails to the CPUC on October 25, 2017, and October 27, 2017, requesting authority to enter into capacity contracts with affiliates without seeking prior approval from the Commission by Advice Letter, as required by Decision (D.) 06-12-029. There is competition for capacity contracts on pipelines feeding the Otay Mesa receipt point that makes it unlikely that potential sellers will wait the 30-45 days needed for an expedited Advice Letter to approve an affiliate contract. On October 30, 2017, Executive Director Timothy Sullivan sent SoCalGas a letter directing SoCalGas’s Gas Acquisition Department to take immediate action to increase natural gas import capacity. The October 30, 2017, letter authorized Gas Acquisition to acquire up to 210,000 MMbtu per day of pipeline capacity on the three pipelines needed to transport gas to the Otay Mesa receipt point — North Baja, Gasoducto Rosarito, and Transportadora de Gas Natural Pipeline — during the months of December 2017, January 2018, and February 2018 without prior Commission approval.
Accordingly, the 30-day comment period for this draft resolution was reduced to 10 days pursuant to these authorities to give interested persons notice and opportunity to comment on the draft prior to a Commission vote. The draft resolution was mailed for comments on November 17, 2017, and will be placed on the Commission's agenda for the November 30, 2017, Commission meeting. FINDINGS On October 1, 2017, Line 235-2 ruptured, damaging a nearby stretch of Line 4000 that had been excavated for maintenance The Line 235-2 and Line 4000 outages, combined with a previous outage on Line 3000, have significantly decreased natural gas import capacity to Southern California. Historically, the Otay Mesa receipt point has been used infrequently. The Otay Mesa receipt point can accept up to 202 million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) of natural gas on a firm basis and up to 400 MMcfd on high-use days in San Diego. The Southern California Gas Company’s Gas Acquisition Department sent emails to the CPUC on October 25, 2017, and October 27, 2017, requesting authority to enter into capacity contracts with affiliates without seeking prior approval from the Commission by Advice Letter, as required by Decision (D.) 06-12-029. There is competition for capacity contracts on pipelines feeding the Otay Mesa receipt point that makes it unlikely that potential sellers will wait the 30-45 days needed for an expedited Advice Letter to approve an affiliate contract. On October 30, 2017, Executive Director Timothy Sullivan sent SoCalGas a letter directing SoCalGas’s Gas Acquisition Department to take immediate action to increase natural gas import capacity. The October 30, 2017, letter authorized Gas Acquisition to acquire up to 210,000 MMbtu per day of pipeline capacity on the three pipelines needed to transport gas to the Otay Mesa receipt point — North Baja, Gasoducto Rosarito, and Transportadora de Gas Natural Pipeline — during the months of December 2017, January 2018, and February 2018 without prior Commission approval.
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