New England Needs More Pipelines
America is rapidly reindustrializing with manufacturing onshoring and a rapid boom of AI data centers that promises to revolutionize the economy. As it does, one undeniable fact is clear: American needs more energy infrastructure. Nowhere is this truer – or more urgent – than in New York and New England where serious natural gas infrastructure constraints have driven up energy prices and driven out industry and jobs.
New England relies on natural gas. At times of peak demand, natural gas can supply as much as 81% of the energy consumed in the Northeast. Natural gas is a vital source of safe, affordable, reliable and dispatchable heat during Northeast winters that saves the average family American family $1,132 compared to their all-electric counterparts. Supply constraints in the northeast come with serious risks. Take Winter Storm Elliott as one example; In December 2022, the storm brought blizzards, high winds, and record cold to much of the northern U.S. The impacts were particularly hard felt in New York. As one might imagine, a metropolitan area with more than twenty million residents consumes quite a bit of energy – and keeping all those homes safely warm during a historic storm meant that the demand for natural gas jumped dramatically.
The natural gas delivery system did heroic work in keeping homes warm and the power grid supplied with electricity. However, record-breaking demand for natural gas coupled with steep production declines from upstream freeze-offs created real operational challenges at select points along the natural gas value chain. That triggered an emergency declaration in the greater New York Metropolitan area as the system faced reliability-threatening low pressures in delivery pipelines.
The contingency planning by local natural gas utilities paid off, with successful execution preventing a life-threatening crisis. However, had pressures in the area continued to decline, the lack of infrastructure could have resulted in a loss of service requiring weeks or months of recovery time, leaving many customers without heat during an extreme cold event. Permitting issues that make it difficult or impossible to build new infrastructure makes it harder to adequately prepare for all eventualities, even with some of the most extensive and effective contingency planning on the planet.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a report in November 2023 that aligned with AGA’s views on the issue. As AGA Chief Regulatory Counsel, Energy Matt Agen put it:
“While we’re proud that our members were able to continue to supply life-sustaining energy even under these difficult circumstances, ensuring that the system can operate normally without having to rely on such contingency plans during challenging events is a top priority for our industry. The reliability of the natural gas delivery system underpins the energy system as a whole – and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
Being ready for next time means having the infrastructure in place to provide the life-saving energy we need on this year’s worst day and prepare for a reindustrialized future. Pipelines connecting New England to the nation-wide pipeline system are a vital necessity to ensuring energy security.
The Constitution Pipeline bolstered by the administration is a major project working to do just that. Once complete, this pipeline will transport natural gas from production fields in Pennsylvania to a major regional hub in Albany, NY. From there, it will be distributed across New England.
This project would help improve system reliability in New England, reduce dependence on liquified natural gas (LNG) imported at much higher global market prices, lower energy costs, and help ensure that demand for industrial facilities and data centers can be met. To enable this infrastructure can be constructed affordably and without delay, one more piece of the puzzle is needed: comprehensive permitting reform.