§ 66-f. Purchase and procurement of natural gas at lowest available
price. 1. The commission shall have the authority to direct any gas
corporation subject to the jurisdiction of the commission to purchase or
procure natural gas at the lowest available price as determined by the
commission.

2. A gas corporation shall be required to purchase supplies of natural
gas whenever a natural gas producer provides the gas corporation with at
least six months prior notice of the availability of such gas, and the
delivered cost of such gas is equal to or less than the highest
delivered cost of natural gas produced outside the state which the gas
corporation would otherwise purchase or acquire, adjusted to reflect
substantive differences, if any, in the terms and conditions applicable
to the sale of such gas over the period of availability of the natural
gas; provided, however, that no gas corporation shall be required to
purchase natural gas where it can demonstrate such purchase would have
an adverse impact upon its ratepayers, which cannot be reasonably
mitigated.

3. A gas corporation shall respond to a notice of availability of
supplies of natural gas at a specified delivered cost provided by a
producer of such gas within one month of the receipt of such notice,
and, if it indicates its intent not to purchase such supplies, shall
provide in detail its reasons therefor. A natural gas producer may
petition the public service commission, within fifteen days of the
receipt of a gas corporation's response, to order such gas corporation
to comply with subdivision one of this section. Such petition shall
contain sufficient information to demonstrate the petitioner's ability
to provide the supplies of natural gas offered for sale to the gas
corporation. A copy of such petition shall also be served upon such gas
corporation. Within twenty-one days of the receipt of such a petition, a
gas corporation shall file such information as is necessary to
demonstrate that the purchase of natural gas during the period of
availability at the specified delivered cost of such gas would have an
adverse impact upon its ratepayers. The petitioner and others shall have
the opportunity to comment upon the filing by the gas corporation within
twenty-one days of such filing. The commission shall take final action
on any such petition within forty days after the date upon which the
petitioner's comments are due. The commission may require a gas
corporation to purchase all or a portion of the supplies of natural gas
offered by the petitioner during the period of availability at the
specified delivered cost, or at such other cost as will not result in an
adverse impact upon such gas corporation's ratepayers. Nothing in this
section shall require a producer of natural gas to sell such gas to a
gas corporation at a cost other than that specified in its notice of
availability.