CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Bloomberg) — Duke Energy Corp., the biggest U.S. utility owner, sought government approval for a $250 million expansion of a natural gas pipeline that would almost double its capacity to supply the Boston area. Duke and its partners asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to boost the capacity of the Maritimes & Northeast Line to almost 800,000 dekatherms a day from 415,000 dekatherms by 2004, Maritimes said in a statement. The 650-mile pipeline carries gas from Exxon Mobil Corp.’s Sable Offshore Energy Project off Nova Scotia to U.S. pipelines at Dracut, Massachusetts. Duke is adding a link that will connect Maritimes to its Algonquin Gas Transmission lines in New England. Demand for natural gas in the U.S. Northeast is expected to rise as generators build more power plants that use the fuel, which burns cleaner than coal and oil. Maritimes said it received requests from generators, gas-distribution companies and gas marketers to use the expanded line. Duke and Vancouver’s Westcoast Energy Inc. own 75 percent of Maritimes. Duke is buying the Canadian company in a $7.6 billion transaction that’s expected to close this quarter.
Exxon Mobil and Emera Inc., a Halifax, Nova Scotia-based utility owner, each own half of the remaining stake.
