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Dear Readers,

Sadie here.  Can y’all feel the patriotism in the air?  With Canada Day and American Independence Day just four days apart, that can only mean one thing.  I’ve been gettin’ ready for a BBQ packed weekend!

To celebrate, my cat Decatherm and I got some patriotic mani-pedis.  Her nails are showin’ off the Canadian maple leaf, and I went with stars and stripes.  Poor Decatherm though.  She hated gettin’ her nails done so much, she just laid there catatonic…oh my gosh, catatonic, is that where that word comes from?  Anyway, I’ve been feeling so bad, I haven’t been able to stop apologizin’.  Huh, maybe I should’ve gotten the Canadian maple leaf…

Look at me go on about gettin’ my nails cut and painted when you guys have other concerns.  Let’s go over how to avoid a different kinda cut, cut nominations.  Read on…

Defeated, Hopeful, Rattled & Befuddled on Cut Nominations

Dear Sadie,
Why were my nominations cut?
Signed,
Defeated in Dublin

Dear Sadie,
It looks like I got cut, but is there any chance this gas will flow later or something I can do to get it to flow later?
Signed,
Hopeful in Houston

Dear Sadie,
It looks like I’m getting cut, but I can’t tell who’s cutting who.   I think my counterparty’s cutting me, but he claims it’s me who’s cutting him.  Who’s right?
Signed,
Rattled in Rosenburg

Dear Sadie,
Why am I getting ImbPool-01 and ImbPool-02 cuts on the same nom?
Signed,
Befuddled in Bakersfield

Dear Readers,

I can so help you here!   By far, the number one reason people call the CGT Helpline is to ask about nomination cuts (Not just to talk to me, as you might think).  In a perfect world there wouldn’t be any cuts, but sometimes, due to a variety of circumstances, cuts are an unfortunate reality and it’s likely that at some point you’ll suffer one.

While there are any number of reasons you might be cut (see complete list of cut codes) certain types of cuts are generally out of your control: path cuts, interconnect cuts and scheduled volume cuts due to maintenance.

Therefore, what you really want to avoid are the kinds of cuts that are within your control – things like making sure your pools are in balance, that you actually entered all of your noms before the deadline, that your counterparties have matched you, that you haven’t exceeded your MDQ(s), or that you haven’t incorrectly entered a nom such that the one you entered on our pipe doesn’t match the one on the interconnecting pipe (I call that “fat-fingering”).

If the pipeline capacity is being constrained, and you happen to get cut, then it’s extremely unlikely your gas will flow later in the day.  And even though INSIDEtracc will continue to try and fulfill the full volume, that system nomination (“sysnom”) for the cut volume will be for a subsequent cycle.  And since INSIDEtracc gives preference to cycle, unless another customer either de-schedules their own nomination or suffers a cut to a flowing nomination later in the gas day, there won’t be room for your cut volume to flow.

Customers typically become aware of cuts in one of three ways:

• They’ve signed up for the “Email Cut Report” (this is linked here) and receive an e-mail every time they have cuts
• By running the 100 Report (“Customer Nomination/PG&E Confirmation”) or the 110 Report (“Customer Nomination/PG&E Scheduled Volumes”)
• By checking the Query Nomination Details (QND) or Query/Replace Processed Noms screen.

The Email Cut Report will list all cuts as well as the corresponding cut codes.  Reports will display a cut code, but the user must check the “Code Key” checkbox to show the full legend of cut messages at the end of the report.

To see the cut codes and cut messages from the QND or Query Replace Processed Nom screen, the user must click on a nom that’s been cut and they’ll be transported to the Replace Volume or Rank screen where both the cut code and message will be displayed.  The cut messages are fairly straightforward in their explanation as to how or why the cut occurred, however, if you’re still unclear, you should call the helpline and we’ll be happy to explain further.

As a rule, path and interconnect cuts happen at the transportation level (Firm transportation cuts are pro rata and As Available transportation cuts are by price).  These cuts, of course, generate pool balancing cuts which ripple upstream and/or downstream of where the cut actually occurred.   Pool balancing cuts will always indicate whether the problem is due to a short market (your downstream counterparty can’t take the gas) or short supply, your upstream counterparty doesn’t have the gas to give you).  Most cut messages will also indicate which ranking is being followed.

Occasionally, a customer will call complaining that his cut messages include both short supply and a short market cut messages and will be confused as to how this could be.   This is a rare occasion but can happen if the customer goes into the cycle deliberately out of balance with the expectation that INSIDEtracc will balance his nom(s) for him.

Say, for example, the customer deliberately undersupplied his pool (and got cut by INSIDEtracc for short supply) but in a later instance of pool balancing, a downstream contract was unable to take even that reduced amount of gas and therefore was cut for short market.

Remember, we’re always here to answer your questions, so if anything we’ve talked about here is still unclear, please feel free to give us a call.

Only Winners Need Apply

Just another quick reminder that, come later this month, I’ll be publishin’ a quiz. Do well, and you’ll get some fantastic prizes. How does one ace that quiz? It’s so simple, even a catatonic Decatherm could do it. Just read all my Dear Sadie articles, and you should be equipped with all the wonderful knowledge you need to win.

Catch ya on the next nom cycle, and be safe!
  Sadie