Williams announced that it has placed into full service the Southside Reliability Enhancement, an important expansion and modernization of Transco in North Carolina and Virginia that provides additional natural gas capacity to meet growing demand for affordable, reliable and clean energy in the region.
The Tulsa company’s project adds a total of 423,400 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of fully contracted pipeline capacity, providing the ability to meet the clean energy needs of more than 2 million homes in the region.
“The on-time completion of this latest project underscores our team’s ability to execute large-scale expansions in a careful, efficient, safe and environmentally responsible manner,” said Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer for Williams.
“Our entire team continues to execute on a full portfolio of transmission growth projects to meet accelerating natural gas demand in the United States for LNG exports, power generation from data center load growth and the reshoring of energy intensive manufacturing that is taking advantage of low-cost natural gas supplies here at home.”
Southside Reliability Enhancement comes online as demand loads for this heating season have ramped up quickly, with the Transco system experiencing record and near-record loads already this month. Notably, Transco achieved an all-time peak day on Dec. 22 with a total volume of 17.77 million dekatherms (Dth) that surpassed the previous peak day set on Dec. 6. In New York, Transco delivered peak loads of more than 2.2 million Dths on Dec. 22, marking the highest levels observed in the past several years. Transco also set a new, all-time three-day peak of just over 50 million Dths, surpassing the previous record set in January 2024.
“Continued demand growth, completion of the Southside Reliability Enhancement in addition to our recent Regional Energy Access project, and in-service of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Interconnect continue to support strong system growth for the heating season,” said Armstrong.
“The recent frigid conditions across the Northeast are an important reminder of the vital role transmission pipelines play in delivering the natural gas necessary to keep millions of Americans safe and secure, especially during winter periods of peak demand. The value of reliable natural gas infrastructure is not always recognized until low-cost energy is needed most and I appreciate our teams for their dedication to keeping our operations running smoothly around the clock.”
By maximizing the use of the existing Transco transmission corridor and expanding existing facilities, the Southside Reliability Enhancement project enabled a substantial reduction in required facilities and land use – minimizing community and environmental impact and allowing additional natural gas volumes to be transported to meet growing demand in North and South Carolina. An abundant, reliable supply of natural gas is critical to help reduce carbon emissions and provide the flexibility needed to support a growing renewables component in power generation.
The project included the construction of a new, all electric compressor station in Mecklenburg County, Virginia and additional all-electric compression at the existing Station 166 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. It also involved upgrades and enhancements to existing meter stations in Iredell, Northampton and Hertford counties in North Carolina.
With this expansion, the Transco pipeline’s system-design capacity has increased to 19.9 million Dths of natural gas per day. Williams owns and operates Transco, an approximately 10,200-mile natural gas transportation system that extends from south Texas to New York City. The Transco pipeline is the nation’s largest-volume natural gas pipeline system, transporting about 20% of the natural gas produced in the U.S.
Source: Business Wire