TGP supports additional gas supply options

Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP), a Kinder Morgan company, has submitted a filing with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) supporting the DPU’s examination into the means by which new natural gas supply capacity may be added to the New England market, including providing a regulatory mechanism for Massachusetts electric distribution companies (EDCs) to contract for additional natural gas pipeline capacity to help reduce natural gas and electricity prices in Massachusetts.

In its June 15 DPU filing, TGP noted that Massachusetts and New England are consistently experiencing the highest natural gas and electricity prices in the continental US, which can be significantly reduced through contracting for and building additional natural gas pipeline capacity to service the region.

“The existing shortage of pipeline capacity to serve the demand from the electric generation sector, particularly during the winter, leads to significantly higher regional natural gas prices and, in turn, higher regional electricity prices,” said Kimberly S. Watson, President, Kinder Morgan East Region Natural Gas Pipelines.

Over the past two winters, New England’s electricity plants have had to rely on needlessly high-priced natural gas, expensive imported LNG and costly fuel oil purchased on the spot market to meet demand due to insufficient natural gas pipeline capacity serving the region. According to the independent electric grid operator ISO New England, this resulted in New Englanders paying over US$7 billion more for electricity during the winters of 2013/14 and 2014/15 than what they paid for electricity during the winter of 2011/12.

ISO New England has also noted that although total use of electricity in New England dropped 2% in 2014 compared to 2013, the average price of wholesale electricity rose 13% in 2014, with the increase largely due to the increase in the cost of power plant fuel, particularly natural gas.

“There is no doubt that the increasing cost of natural gas and electricity caused by the lack of adequate natural gas pipeline capacity makes it more costly for New England’s businesses to compete with businesses operating in nearby lower energy cost regions, and is particularly painful for New England’s working families, retirees and others living on fixed incomes,” said Watson.

Watson added, “The ability to bring additional low-cost, domestic, abundant and environmentally cleaner natural gas to Massachusetts and New England will lower and stabilise energy costs for gas and electric customers and help stimulate economic growth, providing the opportunity for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to benefit similarly to other regions of the US, where low-cost natural gas is transforming their economies by creating new jobs and cost savings for families, businesses and public institutions.”

According to the TGP filing, increasing the natural gas supply capacity to New England will also have additional important benefits to Massachusetts and New England, such as: further reducing regional emissions of CO2, NOX, and SO2 by replacing higher emitting coal and oil-fired electricity generation with new, cleaner natural gas-fired electricity generation, supporting growth of renewable generation technologies such as solar and wind by ensuring uninterrupted energy supply on cloudy or windless days, and providing the opportunity for additional residences and businesses to convert from oil and other fuels for heating and manufacturing to less expensive and cleaner natural gas, particularly in western Massachusetts and other areas which are currently dealing with moratoriums on new connections due to limited natural gas supply.

TGP has provided safe and reliable interstate pipeline natural gas to New England for over 60 years, and is an important source of gas supply for gas utilities and electricity generation facilities in Massachusetts. TGP directly serves a substantial portion of existing installed gas-fired generating capacity in New England that cannot be served by any other pipeline, and has the unique and critical ability to supply generation connected to other regional interstate pipelines.

Adapted from press release by Hannah Priestley-Eaton

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/16062015/tgp-supports-additional-gas-supply-options/