Pacific Express, TransCanada GTN System’s new customer interface, went into service on December 2006. Pacific Express is the web-based system customers use to complete day-to-day transactions with TransCanada that includes nominations, capacity release, contracts, and report generation on GTN.

Shippers who took training on the new system in Burbank, Calgary, Houston and Portland report that they find Pacific Express an intuitive and efficient tool for doing business on GTN.

“We needed a user-friendly application that also met GTN’s business rules and complied with all relevant Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Energy Standards Board requirements,” says Jay Story, director, GTN Gas Control and Transportation Services.

To create a system that met GTN’s needs, the TransCanada development team used a highly collaborative approach to software development known as ‘Agile’ where representatives from the business work closely with developers to advise them on system requirements and provide rapid and continuous feedback as the software is designed.

“The process is totally dynamic - nothing is set in stone,” says Jim Clark, program manager, GTN Customer Information Systems. “The business can see quickly if something they asked for doesn’t work as well in practice as they thought it would, or if the development team misinterpreted a request. You don’t waste time or resources developing features no one will use.”

Enhancements to the customer web site interface include:

• An Alternate View of the nomination screen that displays only the information needed by GTN for scheduling (the Alternate View also displays receipt and delivery information side-by-side)
• Improved navigation throughout the application
• Dynamic totals on the nomination screen that display receipt and delivery totals in real time as nominations are being created
• The ability to copy capacity release offers, a feature that will lessen the amount of data entry for customers that release capacity frequently.

“The initial response from customers is they find Pacific Express an intuitive and efficient tool for doing business on the GTN System,” says Jay. “These enhancements will allow our customers to do business with us more easily and effectively.”

For more information on the Pacific Express interface, visit GTN’s website or contact Jay Story at 503.833.4309.