Columbia Gas in Alliance to Build Pipeline

Charleston, W.Va.-based Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. and units of Dearborn, Mich.-based CMS Energy Corp., Detroit-based MCN Energy Group Inc. and Vancouver, Canada-based Westcoast Energy Inc. announced plans to build a pipeline, called Millennium, to carry at least 650 million cubic feet a day of natural gas to the East Coast from western Canada and the U.S. The pipeline, expected to cost $600 million, will run from Lake Erie to Westchester County, N.Y. The companies will entertain service requests over a 45-day open season starting later this month. The companies expect to begin deliveries in time for the 1999 winter heating season, said Columbia Gas System Inc., a subsidiary of Columbia Gas.