Commission Receives Petition to Reopen and Modify Decision and Order in Matter of Duke Energy Corp., Spectra Energy Corp., and DCP Midstream, LLC; FTC Approves Federal Register Notice on Routine Uses of Agency Records Systems

Petition to reopen and modify Commission order: The Commission has received a petition to reopen and modify an FTC order concerning Duke Energy Corporation, Spectra Energy Corp., and DCP Midstream, LLC. As detailed in the petition, a copy of which can be found on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release, the respondents have requested that the FTC reopen and modify its decision and order entered on May 5, 2000, related to: 1) the merger of the midstream natural gas businesses of Duke Energy and Phillips Petroleum into Duke Energy Field Services (DEFS); and 2) Duke Energy’s acquisition of certain midstream natural gas assets of Conoco, Inc. and Mitchell Energy & Development Corporation.

Under the order, Duke Energy and DEFS were required to divest 2,780 miles of gas-gathering pipeline in certain areas of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and to notify the FTC of future natural gas gathering or processing interests they intended to acquire in those areas. In December 2006, Duke Energy and DEFS notified the FTC that Duke Energy intended to spin off its natural gas business, including its 50 percent interest in DEFS to Spectra, a newly formed independent company, and that DEFS would then be renamed DCP Midstream, LLC. The respondents report that the spin off was completed in January 2007, and that, as a result, Duke Energy no longer holds any interest in DEFS or any other natural gas assets in the relevant areas. In their petition, respondents request that the FTC reopen the current order and modify it to relieve Duke Energy of all continuing obligations.

The Commission is seeking public comments on the petition for 30 days, until July 5, 2007, after which it will decide whether to approve it. Comments should be sent to: FTC Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20580. (FTC Docket No. C-3932; the staff contact is Elizabeth A. Piotrowski, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2623; see press release dated March 31, 2000.)

Commission approval of Federal Register notice: The Commission has approved the issuance of a Federal Register notice concerning the routine use of agency systems of records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. As detailed in the notice, which will be published shortly and is available now on the FTC’s Web site as a link to this press release, the Commission is adopting in final form a new routine use that permits the disclosure of FTC records protected by the Privacy Act when reasonably necessary to respond to and prevent, minimize, or remedy harm that may result from an agency data breach or compromise.

The Commission vote approving the Federal Register notice was 5-0. (FTC File No. P072104; the staff contact is Alex Tang, Office of the General Counsel, 202-326-2447.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.