15. Receipt Point Pools
SoCalGas must establish receipt point pools for the purpose of aggregating in-coming supplies at a particular receipt point, and allow pool-to-pool transfers at the same receipt point without the payment of BTS charges.77 No pool-to-pool transfers between different receipt points are allowed.
SDG&E/SoCalGas should establish receipt point pools in time for the October 1, 2011 implementation date for the next FAR cycle, if possible. However, SDG&E/SoCalGas may implement receipt point pools later than October 1, 2011, on a phased-in basis as soon as they are ready.78 The cost to implement receipt point pools must be recovered from the rates charged to BTS customers through the BTBA.
Establishing receipt point pools is reasonable because receipt point pools will provide greater flexibility to shippers and promote administrative efficiency. Receipt point pools will allow shippers to consolidate their various gas deliveries from upstream pipelines into a pool from which they can then nominate under SoCalGas' scheduling protocols. Allowing pool-to-pool transfers at individual receipt points will facilitate commodity trading and supply administration at individual receipt points into the SDG&E/SoCalGas system.
Receipt point pools are reasonable as long as the individual customer pools are limited to receipts and deliveries out of a specific receipt point and transactions between pools are limited to those between pools identified with the same receipt point. This will reduce operational problems that could occur if gas delivered to one receipt point was transferred to a second receipt point without gas physically present at the second receipt point.
Because modifications to the SDG&E/SoCalGas information technology systems that are needed to establish receipt point pools might not be ready by October 1, 2011, it is reasonable for modifications to the SDG&E/SoCalGas information technology systems that are needed to establish receipt point pools to be implemented on a phased-in basis as soon thereafter as they are ready. It is reasonable to recover the cost to implement receipt point pools from the rates charged to BTS customers through the BTBA because receipt point pools will benefit to BTS customers.
77 This adopts Recommendation No. 7 of Exhibit No. JRO-1.
78 This adopts Recommendation No. 15.a of Exhibit No. JRO-1.
