To All Bay State Gas Marketers:
On February 1, 1999, the Massachusetts Department of Telecommunications and Energy ("MDTE") issued an order (the "Order") adddressing, among other things, issues relating to the contract renewal and supply planning process of the local distribution companies. In the spirit of that Order, Bay State Gas Company ("Bay State") has listed below its decisions with regard to three contracts due to expire on October 31, 2003 and which require at least 1 year advance notice. Consistent with its Long-Range Forecast and Supply Plan, which was reviewed in a public hearing before the MDTE in March, 1999, Bay State has decided not to renew the contracts listed below.
| Contracts Terminating October 31, 2003 - To Be Renewed | |||||
No. | Expiration | Expiration | |||
| Tennessee | 5173 | FT-A | 10/31/03 | 10/31/08 | One Year |
| Tennessee | 5293 | FT-A | 10/31/03 | 10/31/08 | One Year |
| Tennessee | 5178 | FS-MA | 10/31/03 | 10/31/08 | One Year |
Contract No. 5173 transports long-haul gas from the Gulf of Mexico directly to Bay State’s citygate. Contract No. 5178 provides a storage service located in Pennsylvania and contract No. 5293 provides take-away capacity from the storage facility directly to Bay State’s citygate.
Bay State is also currently in the process of negotiating with Tennessee to extend contract number 5196, which transports gas from Tennessee's zone 4 storage location directly to Bay State's citygate. This contract is due to expire on 3/31/04 with a one-year notice period. The Company expects to extend this contract for an additional 5-year period. In addition, Bay State is currently negotiating with Tennessee to add an additional gate station in its Lawrence division along with the necessary short haul capacity from Dracut in order to provide additional reliability, flexibility and diversity to the Lawrence division, which is currently fed from a single Tennessee gate station.
Please feel free to contact me at 508.836.7269 with any questions or comments you may have.
Sincerely,
Christopher A. Kahl
