11.   Interstate pipelines, such as those operated by the Houston-based Texas Eastern Transmission Corp., are not governed by state regulations.

12.   Large businesses also have the right to purchase supplies directly from interstate pipeline companies.

13.   Natural gas producers lost a battle at the Supreme Court over whether the federal government must regulate gas-gathering activities by subsidiaries of interstate pipeline companies.

14.   Now, all interstate pipelines are run in that fashion.

15.   Operators of interstate pipelines have proposed new construction that could double delivery to the state.

16.   Peachtree Natural Gas has started basing its separate charges for interstate pipeline capacity on actual gas usage.

17.   PSC Chairman Stan Wise said he does not view the merger as anticompetitive in Georgia because interstate pipeline charges are regulated by the federal government.

18.   The federal government sets rates for shipping natural gas on interstate pipelines because of concerns that such fees would soar during cold snaps or other periods of high demand.

19.   The federal Department of Transportation, which regulates interstate pipelines, also has not ordered installation of the valves, although the matter is under study.

20.   The interstate pipelines are regulated by the federal government.