Peoples Gas extends footprint

TAMPA — Peoples Gas, the Tampa-based subsidiary of TECO Energy Inc., has agreed to a partnership with Florida Public Utilities Co. to supply natural gas to Nassau County and Amelia Island near Jacksonville, says a news release from TECO.

A 33-mile pipeline built jointly will connect Peoples Gas' Jacksonville system with a paper and packaging manufacturer in Fernadina Beach in Nassau County. Rock-Tenn Co., which has corporate headquarters in Norcross, Ga., will receive the connection and FPU will build a gas distribution system to service the surrounding area. The fuel will be available this November, says the release.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. However, in a December interview with the Business Review, TECO President and CEO John Ramil said the utility company would pursue similar relationships with commercial clients this year. By making the investment in natural gas filling stations, he said, a utility company can anchor itself in a new market as the fuel provider. Although in this agreement, FPU will build the anchor.

Peoples Gas reported $453 million in annual revenues and $72 million in capital spending in its 2011 fiscal year. The firm expects capital spending to be greater in 2012, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Natural gas prices have leveled off at the lowest they have been in a decade at $1.983 per 1,000 cubic feet. Prices have been decreasing since June, when they were just greater than $4.50 per 1,000 cubic feet. New drilling techniques have exploded the supply of the fuel contributing to the drop in price, according to energy analysts.