December 2019 Vol. 74 No. 12
Newsline
NY Governor Threatens to Revoke Utility’s License, AGA Responds
National Grid said it is confident it will be able to address concerns over gas supplies raised by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who threatened to revoke the British firm’s license to operate if it failed to supply gas to more than 1,100 customers.
In May, the company issued a moratorium on gas hook ups citing a lack of supply after the state of New York rejected a permit for the pipeline.
National Grid has been at odds with Governor Cuomo over the construction of the Constitution pipeline, a $1 billion natural gas pipeline being built by Williams. The pipeline would carry 400 million cubic feet per day of natural gas from New Jersey to New York.
The American Gas Association, however, was critical of the demand. AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert responded that, by vetoing pipelines and denying access to natural gas, “Gov. Cuomo is forcing families to use more expensive and dirtier fuels to heat their homes.
“With winter bearing down on us, residents of New York need affordable, reliable energy and after Governor Cuomo denied permits for access to natural gas to supply these communities it seems that he is looking to add insult to injury by taking punitive measures against National Grid,” Harbert said.
Based on the 2017 U.S. Census American Housing Survey, 57 percent of New York state’s 7.4 million households use natural gas for space heating while 23 percent still use fuel oil. The total number of NY households using natural gas for space heating has grown more than 475,000 since 2009.
Comments