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Last Update 7/8/2008
SoCalGas will begin sending out informational packets beginning in 2008. Customers wishing to participate will be provided with the necessary contracts and log on ID to participate in the online bidding process. Additionally, customers may acquire rights after the Open Season by purchasing Interruptible rights or available firm rights through the SoCalGas EBB in the Secondary Market.
| Rate | Firm or Interruptible | Term | Rate Structure | Reservation Rate (per Dth/Day) | Volumetric Rate (per Dth) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G-RPA1 | Firm | 3 Years* | 100% Reservation | $0.05 | |
| G-RPA2** | Firm | 3 to 20 Years | 100% Reservation | Cost Based at Each Receipt Point | |
| G-RPAN | Short Term Firm | Up to 3 Years | 100% Reservation | Market based up to $0.05 | |
| G-RPAI | Interruptible | Up to 3 years | 100% Volumetric | Market based up to $0.05 | |
| G-OSDI | Interruptible | Up to 3 years | 100% Volumetric | $0.05 | |
| G-OSDF | Firm | Up to 3 years | TBD in Open Season | Cost to be determined in open season |
*Terms are available for up to 20 years during Steps 3A and 3B open
** Customer taking service under G-RPA2 will also pay the G-RPA1 rate.
Yes.
Prior to implementation, the approved tariff rates can be found at --
http://www.socalgas.com/regulatory/sifaroff/docs/FAR%20_Schedules_Exemplary_revised.pdf.
Thereafter, the tariffs and associated rates can be viewed at --
http://www.socalgas.com/regulatory/tariffs/tariffs_rates.shtml
Firm Access Rights and Off System Delivery.
Customers who hold firm receipt point access rights may release all or a portion of those rights to any creditworthy party in the secondary market through SoCalGas’ EBB.
No, there is not a charge for trading transactions.
Most contracts will be up to a 3 year period with the exception of some G-RPA2 contracts with terms up to 20 years.
Citygate is the aggregation and deaggregation of natural gas. It is a virtual delivery point that helps facilitate delivery of gas to an end-user, storage account, or for off-system deliveries from multiple receipt points. It should also create a convenient pricing point for customers to buy and sell gas if they so desire.
No, if you’re a noncore transportation customer of SoCalGas your transportation rate for your local transmission service will decrease by 5 cents/Dth. However, if you acquire firm or interruptible rights you will pay 5 cents/Dth for using those rights. So the net effect is no change on your total transportation costs for gas.
If you decide not to acquire rights and purchase your supplies from a marketer you will see a decrease of 5 cents/Dth in your Gas company bill but your marketer may charge you for the rights they are using to deliver you gas.
Yes, you will need either interruptible or firm receipt point rights if you want to deliver gas into a storage account or use your storage account to deliver gas off-system to PG&E.
Yes, to participate in the Open Season you will need to sign a Receipt Point Master Agreement.
See the Open Season description.
Yes, you may be able to acquire additional contract rights after the Open Season from SoCalGas or another party in the secondary market. You will be able to request these new rights on SoCalGas’ EBB system – Envoy.
Yes, after receipt point capacity is awarded in all steps of the Open Season, SoCalGas will hold a 2-week re-contracting period where capacity holders will be allowed to exchange any part of their capacity from any receipt point on the system to a different point, even in a different zone, to the extent capacity is available at the requested receipt point. At the end of this 2-week period, SoCalGas will evaluate all requests for exchanges on a non-discriminatory basis and grant requests where receipt point capacity is available. To the extent more quantities are requested to be moved to a particular Receipt Point or Transmission Zone than the available capacity, the requests will be prorated among the requesting customers. Customers may request that their specific receipt point move request is an all-or-nothing request so that it will be rejected if any prorating is required.
After the re-contracting period for exchanging receipt point capacity is over, all remaining available capacities will be available to customers on a “first-come, first-serve” basis. Requests will be submitted online via the SoCalGas EBB system -Envoy®.
A new RPAC will replace the TSA. A new OSD will replace the OSAP. Also there will be a city gate pool where the pooler can nominate supplies into the pool from flowing supplies (RPAC), storage or another city gate pool. The pooler can confirm deliveries from the pool to an end user, storage, another city gate pool or off-system (OSD).
For every nomination cycle, SCG will reduce nominations to the receipt point and zone capacities.
The scheduling priority is as follows:
Firm Primary
Firm Alternate Within the Zone
Firm Alternate Outside the Zone
Interruptible
See Rule 30
The RPAC will have either firm or IT capacity. The firm capacity will be specific to a receipt point and will be designated Firm Primary. This firm capacity may also be used at any other receipt point and will be designated as either Firm Alternate Within the Zone or Firm Alternate Outside the Zone. The zones are North Desert, South Desert, Wheeler Ridge, Line 85 and Coastal.
An RPAC with IT capacity may be nominated at any receipt point and will be, of course, designated as interruptible.
The following parties are eligible to purchase firm, interruptible or off-system rights:
FAR creates firm paths for receipt and delivery, which:
Yes, you may. End-use customers may opt to designate one and only one nominating agent or trading agent to manage your receipt point contracts provided you submit written authorization for the third party to act on your behalf.
No. Fuel costs are already built in to the transmission rates.
No, unless you are a storage customer. If you are an end use customer of SoCalGas, SDG&E, or any SoCalGas wholesale customer, you can talk it over with your gas supplier.
The transmission zones and receipt points are listed below:
| Transmission Zone | Specific Points of Access (MMcfd) |
|---|---|
Southern (1210) |
EPN Ehrenberg – 1210 |
Northern (1590) |
TW North Needles – 800 |
Wheeler (765) |
KR/MP Wheeler Ridge – 765 |
Line 85 (160) |
California Supply |
Coastal (150) |
California Supply |
Other |
California Supply |
Delivery Points available are --
Up-to-date information will be posted on SoCalGas’s Envoy EBB regarding available firm rights at each receipt point. Information will include all contracted firm receipt point access capacity and the available unsubscribed receipt point access capacity for sale.
Customers holding firm receipt point access capacity will be able to nominate natural gas for delivery on an alternate “within-the-zone” firm basis from any specific Receipt Point within an applicable transmission zone. Customers will also be able to nominate natural gas for delivery on an alternate “outside-the-zone” firm basis from any receipt point on the system. All such nominations will be scheduled in accordance with Rule No. 30, Transportation of Customer-Owned Gas.
Off-system delivery is the capability to deliver gas already on the SoCalGas system to the PG&E delivery point and on to other markets. Initially, SoCalGas will make available physical displacement capacity at the receipt point on an interruptible basis at the applicable G-OSDI rate. (link)
SoCalGas will hold an open season for firm off-system delivery service to the PG&E system that would require new facilities at either the Adelanto/Kramer Junction area or Kern River Station. Firm off-system delivery service will be sold to customers willing to commit to long-term contracts with use-or-pay provisions or reservation charges.
The G-RPA tariff is subject to local Utility User taxes
Receipt Point Access rates for G-RPA will be adjusted in 2010.
SoCalGas will not be offering receipt point pooling services only a city-gate pooling service.
Core transportation customers will receive the 5 cent/dth rate decrease in their transportation rate and may see a corresponding increase from their Energy Service Provider since their Energy Service Provider will incur additional costs to transport gas to the city gate . The Energy Service Providers will be provided bidding rights on behalf of their core loads. Core Transportation customers do not have individual bidding rights and do not participate in the Open Season.
There are 3 rounds of bidding in Step 2 of the Open Season. Step 2 allows specific eligible customers the right to bid. All participants in Step 2 are treated equally, with no one customer having priority over another customer..
If bidding quantities at specific receipt points exceed capacity, the bid quantities for that receipt point will be prorated. Base load bids will be evaluated and awarded before monthly bids are evaluated and awarded.
No, participants do not bid on rate. The rate is set per the G-RPA1 schedule at 5 cents/Dth/day. Participants will bid for receipt point and quantity only in Steps 1 and 2, and receipt point, quantity and term in Step 3.
Information on all contracts including quantity, term, rate and owner will be available on the Electronic Bulletin board (EBB).
Bidding rights are valid during the Open Season only.
After closing each nomination cycle, SoCalGas will validate rights, balance its system, run the capacity allocation and then send one confirmation file to each upstream interconnecting pipeline. SoCalGas will then allocate scheduled volumes when received from pipelines.
During the recontracting step of the FAR open season, bidders will pay the tariff rate (G-RPA-1) for capacity. Parties will also be able to "recontract" on the EBB system to the extent capacity is available beginning October 1, 2008.
During the Recontracting Step of the Open Season, bidders will be able to recontract capacity for quantity they have been awarded or a lesser amount and for any monthly term as long as it is within the initial 3 year period of October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2011.
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