"An Act relating to the regulation of natural gas pipelines under the Pipeline Act."

In 2000, the Alaska State Legislature amended the Alaska Pipeline Act to make provisions for the operation of a North Slope Gas Pipeline. One of the provisions was to allow for two classes of transportation services, firm and interruptible.

When the 2000 amendments were enacted, the North Slope Gas Pipeline was the only gas transportation pipeline in the state proposing to provide such service. There is now a pipeline in the Cook Inlet, the Kenai Kachemak Pipeline (KKPL), that proposes to provide a similar transportation service in its Cook Inlet service area.

In a recent ruling (KKPL) requested the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) to authorize it to provide these "firm" and "interruptible" services. The commission has yet to issue a final ruling, but has raised the question of whether or not a contract carriage for gas pipelines elsewhere in the state of Alaska was permissible, given the recent amendment that was apparently exclusive to transportation of gas on the North Slope of Alaska.

This legislation is intended to resolve the question raised by the RCA.

The bill amends the provisions regarding "firm" and "interruptible" service to make them available to any natural gas pipeline carrier operating in the state. It also adds the definitions of a "natural gas pipeline" and "natural gas pipeline carrier".

Last Updated: 03/28/2003

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