Coordination of the Scheduling Processes of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines and Public Utilities

In this Final Rule, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) is revising its regulations to better coordinate the scheduling of wholesale natural gas and electricity markets in light of increased reliance on natural gas for electric generation, as well as to provide additional scheduling flexibility to all shippers on interstate natural gas pipelines. The revised regulations in this Final Rule modify the scheduling practices used by interstate pipelines to schedule natural gas transportation service and provide additional contracting flexibility to firm natural gas transportation customers through the use of multi-party transportation contracts. The revisions in this Final Rule, together with the Commission's action in certain related proceedings, will better ensure the reliable and efficient operation of both the interstate natural gas pipeline and electricity systems.