Kinder Morgan Has Competition . . . Finally. Competitive Plan Could Avert Need for Pipeline Through Groton.
In a competitive challenge to Kinder Morgan's pipeline construction proposal, Spectra Energy [SE] and Northeast Utilities (NU) are offering a plan called Access Northeast to address the region's natural gas needs by upgrading and expanding existing natural gas pipeline infrastructure along all-ready established rights of way.
The proposed $3 billion pipeline expansion would fix a natural-gas bottleneck which sent energy prices soaring last winter due to a weather pattern called a 'polar vortex.' By increasing capacity on Spectra's Algonquin and Maritimes established pipelines by one billion cubic feet a day, natural gas supplies could meet intense winter demand, stabilizing prices at predictable and competitive levels, the companies said in a press release. The project would be half owned by each company and will supply fuel for natural gas electric generation plants and for home heating and is expected to be in service in November 2018.
The Access Northeast Plan would eliminate the need for the 'greenfield' Kinder Morgan-backed Tennessee Gas Pipeline, and consequently, avert the need to disrupt homeowners and conservation land in Groton and other parts of western Massachusetts falling in the path of the Kinder Morgan-sponsored pipeline.
According to a press release, the Access Northeast project "will help deliver increased, guaranteed daily supplies of natural gas to consumers, as well as enhanced service on peak days for strategic natural gas-fueled electric generation plants. This is a fundamentally different approach - a customized solution that brings together the right resources to enhance New England's electric reliability and energy competitiveness."
Spectra Energy [SE] is a Fortune 500 Company with financial and management capabilities similar to Kinder Morgan.
Last December Governors of the New England states made a commitment to work together to reduce energy costs by increasing natural gas supplies by additional spending on new gas pipelines. New England Regulators say the region needs as much as a billion cubic feet a day of additional natural gas to stabilize regional energy prices.
