Union Gas Offers New Services to Meet Needs of Natural Gas Power Producers

CHATHAM – In response to the changing electricity supply mix in Ontario and the growing demand for generation, Union Gas has developed a new array of services to serve the needs of natural gas power producers.

Through Union’s new F24-T and F24-S services, Union’s transportation and storage contract holders will enjoy a firm reservation of contracted capacity throughout the gas day, and a greater number of nomination windows for access to these services.

“Our service enhancements will provide additional flexibility to power producers by allowing them to make more frequent requests for gas throughout the day and thereby respond more quickly to changes in the demand for gas-fired generation,” said Steve Baker, vice president business development, Union Gas.

Parties who contract for these new services will now have 13 nomination windows per day, many with only two hours between the nomination deadline and the effective time. This will give customers who have multiple or short notice changes to gas supply or transportation requirements (as is often the case for power producers) the ability to request changes to their service requirements on a more frequent basis.

Union is also introducing two new intra-day balancing services. Downstream Pipeline Balancing (DPBS) provides a firm park and loan service at Parkway with 15-minute nomination windows, while Upstream Pipeline Balancing (UPBS) allows contracting parties to schedule their deliveries at Parkway to meet their consumption needs. Both services offer delivery flexibility at Parkway and can be accessed on a short notice basis.

“These services are unique in the industry, and to our knowledge are not offered on any other pipeline in North America, and grew out of the desire to more closely integrate the interaction between the gas and electricity industry in Ontario” said Baker. “Union Gas has met the needs of end-use natural gas customers for close to a century, and through these service enhancements, we are adapting again to meet the growing needs of natural gas power producers.”

About Union Gas
Union Gas is an integrated natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company serving about 1.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 400 communities in northern, southwestern and eastern Ontario. The company also provides storage and transportation services to other utilities and energy market participants in Ontario, Quebec and the United States. Union Gas is a Duke Energy company.

Duke Energy is a diversified energy company with a portfolio of natural gas and electric businesses, both regulated and unregulated, and an affiliated real estate company. Duke Energy supplies, delivers and processes energy for customers in the Americas. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.

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