Posted on 09/16/2014 10:34:05 AM PDT by thackney
Spectra Energy Corp. announced a $3 billion expansion to its New England pipeline network which it says will help meet growing demand for natural gas in the region.
The undertaking will allow Houston-based Spectra and its partners to deliver 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the area, the company said. The project will serve both gas-fired power plants as well as customers who use natural gas for heating.
“This is another step in our commitment to improving power system reliability, reducing electric costs to make the region more economically competitive, and protecting New England’s quality of life by minimizing environmental and community impacts,” said Spectra Chairman and CEO Greg Ebel in a statement.
The project was initially outlined to to regulators earlier this summer. Spectra said the project will come online in November 2018. Spectra Energy and Northeast Utilities will be equal partners in the project.
The announcement comes on the heels of a bitterly cold winter earlier this year that helped illustrate the extent of the natural gas bottleneck in the region.
Over the last 15 years, natural gas-fired power generation has grown from serving 15 percent of New England’s electricity needs to 50 percent. Meanwhile, as more and more New Englanders convert to natural gas heating, pipeline capacity has not kept up with that growth.
During early 2014, cold weather caused a spike in the demand for natural gas for heating at the expense of natural gas for electricity, causing coal and oil plants to fill the electricity gap.
The companies say they’ll collaborate with the region’s electric and gas industries, including ISO New England, the region’s electric grid operator, and the New England States Committee on Electricity, comprised of governor-appointed representatives from six New England states.
The gas pipeline expansion project will enhance the Algonquin and Maritimes pipeline systems, using existing routes to minimize effects on communities, landowners and the environment. The project will be scalable to meet growing needs by expanding access to clean, abundant and affordable natural gas, and will be capable of reliably delivering in excess of one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to serve the region's most efficient power plants and meet increasing demand from heating customers.
SE shareholder bump!
I have some as well.
SE 40.84 +0.74 +1.85%
I have a small piece through SteelPath MLP.
Will see about some.
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