What a difference a year makes.  Since acquiring ANR and the remaining interest in Great Lakes Gas Transmission on February 22, 2007, TransCanada has changed dramatically, with hundreds of new faces joining our team and our operational footprint growing across the North American continent.

And while integrating more than 1,000 employees and the assets they operate has not been a simple task, the people who lead U.S. Pipelines Central (USPC) believe the integration is a definite success story.

“We had a busy year as we went out into the marketplace.  We have identified and begun to pursue a number of new opportunities.  The energy and enthusiasm of our team have demonstrated to our customers our commitment to operationally excellent service and the scope of our capabilities,” says Dean Ferguson, vice-president, Marketing & Business Development, USPC.  “We look forward to building on our relationships with our customers and developing new growth opportunities.”

The acquisition of ANR added approximately 17,000 km (10,600 miles) of pipe to TransCanada’s pipeline network, plus approximately 235 billion cubic feet of underground natural gas storage.  Integrating ANR’s infrastructure with TransCanada’s has provided a number of opportunities to learn, save, move, streamline, and grow within this part of the business.

Here’s a sample of some of the milestones along USPC’s road to success:

Moving into new offices
Approximately 550 Houston-based ANR employees, plus contractors, were united under one roof at the Houston head office, which is now home to a new Gas Control Center for ANR system operations.  We also have a new Data Center that manages electronic applications, systems, and information flow.  New field offices were also established.

In addition, ANR employees based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, moved to Great Lakes’ main office in Troy, Michigan.

Realigning Field Operations
Field Operations created four new operating regions that encompass ANR, Great Lakes, and Northern Border pipelines and ANR storage facilities.  The group also realigned its organizational structure.

Integrating systems and networks
Approximately 130,000 equipment entities on the ANR system were added to our maintenance management system.
 
Implementing processes and procedures
TransCanada’s Operating Procedures (TOPs) and work management systems were put in place across USPC Field Operations as well as ANR’s storage and offshore assets.  A U.S.-wide Clean Air team and regional Joint Safety, Health and Environment Committee (JHSEC) were also established.

Streamlining inventory
Pipe inventory was consolidated.  Warehouses were combined into a regional warehouse, constructed in West Monroe, Louisiana, to better service our facilities from the Gulf of Mexico to Michigan.

Pursuing cost savings
Maintenance capital and operating costs budgets were significantly reduced in Field Operations and Engineering and Operations Services through efficiencies gained by eliminating duplicate or redundant tasks and processes and scrutinizing capital expenditures using a new investment valuation tool.  Additionally, Procurement savings for materials and services were achieved last year by introducing the TransCanada supply chain management processes and procedures.

Expanding gas storage capacity
TransCanada continued the process of expanding gas storage along the ANR system in Michigan.  These storage enhancement projects (STEP) will add another 27 billion cubic feet to TransCanada’s working gas storage capacity and increase withdrawal capability— the amount of gas that can be delivered from storage— by an additional 412 million cubic feet per day.