direct testimony of the capital expenditures, reliability, and - nyseg

Case 09-E-____; Case 09-G-____ (NYSEG)DIRECT TESTIMONY OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES,RELIABILITY, AND OPERATIONS PANEL12345678910111213141516171819202122Q. What were the 2008 gas capital budget and 2008 gas capital actually spent atNYSEG?A. The 2008 gas capital budget was $22,378,000 and the actual amount spent was$26,827,000.Q. What is the reason for the difference between these two figures?A. The reason for the difference was a sharp increase in gas service requestsprimarily in the Plattsburgh Division due to spiking fuel oil prices and theunprecedented large price differential between fuel oil and natural gas.Q. What was the amount of capital spent in the test year?A. The capital spent in the test year was $27,086,000, excluding common capital.Q. Why is the gas capital budget increasing over the next five years?A. NYSEG would like to proactively implement additional systematic infrastructureenhancement programs to replace other critical system facilities in addition toprimarily mains and services. In addition, NYSEG is planning to interconnect theSeneca West pipeline directly to the Elmira Distribution system.Q. What are the benefits of connecting the Seneca West pipeline directly to theElmira Distribution system?A. Connecting directly will allow the Seneca Lake storage gas and local productionsupplies to flow directly to the distribution system without having to beredelivered from the Dominion interstate pipeline. In addition, added benefitsresult from the increased reliability of the Elmira gas distribution system and theoptimization of the Seneca Lake gas storage facility.77