Solomon's Verdict

For eight months, two U.S. utility titans have fought before the Federal Power Commission for an estimated $125-million-a-year plum: bringing the first natural gas to New England (TIME, March 20).

H. Gardiner Symonds, president of Tennessee Gas Transmission Co., proposed to invade New England with a subsidiary, the Northeastern Gas Transmission Co., which would take gas from his 1,600-mile Texas-to-Buffalo line, fan it through New England over a 529-mile system at a total investment of $140 million. Eastern Gas & Fuel Associates, which controls about half the manufactured gas supply of New England, at first opposed the natural gas invasion; then it took part in forming Algonquin Gas Transmission Co. to distribute natural gas from Symonds' biggest rival, Texas Eastern Transmission Corp.

FPC first tried to get the two rivals to combine into a single system. Failing in this, FPC last week authorized Northeastern to serve a large part of the market it had staked out. Algonquin, it said, would get the right to serve the remaining area once it proves it has the gas. Under this Solomon-like verdict, enterprising Northeastern gets roughly 54% of the estimated New England natural-gas market, Algonquin the remaining 46%. Both companies expected to begin selling their natural gas by next fall. Neither could start too soon to suit New England, where lack of natural gas has kept industrial fuel costs high.

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