Tulsa’s Williams Cos. has an ally after its bid to construct a new natural gas pipeline to serve New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania was rejected by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The court ruling on Tuesday came after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had approved the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line serving the northeastern U.S. A day later, the American Gas Association condemned the court decision.
It took note that 73% of the capacity was already pledged to natural gas local distribution companies and the pipeline was 100% subscribed under long-term contracts, the three-judge court panel held there was insufficient evidence the pipeline was required.
“We know for a fact that the project will improve overall reliability and diversification of energy infrastructure in the Northeast, ease pipeline constraints, and help address current challenges including increased natural gas prices during the winter months for consumers” said Matthew Agen, AGA Chief Regulatory Counsel for Energy. “The court’s decision sets a dangerous precedent by dismissing the reliability needs of local distribution companies to satisfy the demand for energy during critical periods, such as life-threatening winter events.”
He further stated the need for the pipeline was obvious: during the 2022 Winter Storm Elliott, a lack of available natural gas created reliability-threatening low pressures in delivery pipelines across the greater New York Metropolitan area. While detailed contingency planning and excellent implementation allowed local natural gas utilities to avoid the worst, if pressures in the area had continued to decline there could have been a loss of service requiring weeks or months of recovery while leaving untold customers in life-threatening cold without access to natural gas.
Agenc claimed the additional capacity offered by the Transco pipeline could play a critical role in rectifying and preventing these critical shortages during future extreme weather events. Moreover, pipeline capacity to transport natural gas from Pennsylvania, Appalachia and the rest of the United States to the Northeast is already severely constrained, leading to increased natural gas prices during the winter months for consumers.
