NY Company Plans to Tap Constitution Pipeline, Sell Locally

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unreportedAn important, and apart from MDN friend Andy Leahy, unreported development on the Constitution Pipeline, a new Marcellus Shale gas pipeline proposed by Williams and Cabot Oil & Gas that will run from Susquehanna County, PA to upstate New York (Schoharie County) where it will connect with two large interstate natural gas pipelines.

The important “new news” is that the Constitution will be an “open gas pipeline” and already one company—the Leatherstocking Gas Company of New York—plans to build an interconnect along the Constitution to buy and resell locally produced natural gas locally. Hey, there’s a concept! Leatherstocking plans to set up a low-cost natural gas distribution network in Broome, Chenango, Delaware and Madison counties in New York’s Southern Tier area.

Here’s the joint announcement from Williams and Leatherstocking Gas:

Constitution Pipeline Company and Leatherstocking Gas Company, LLC have signed an agreement to work in good faith to pursue agreements for the design, construction and operation of delivery interconnects along Constitution’s proposed pipeline route.

 

If constructed, the Constitution Pipeline would be classified as an “open access pipeline,” meaning that local municipalities or public utilities like Leatherstocking Gas Company, LLC could potentially tap the line in the future to provide residential, commercial and industrial natural gas service.

 

“Leatherstocking’s plan is to provide lower cost, clean burning, abundant, domestic natural gas to rural communities,” said Leatherstocking CEO, Mike German. “Tapping into the Constitution Pipeline would help us achieve that goal.”

 

Leatherstocking’s vision is the development of natural gas local distribution systems within Broome, Chenango, Delaware, and Madison Counties in New York State and Susquehanna County in Pennsylvania in locations currently without natural gas service.  The company plans to begin constructing portions of its natural gas distribution networks not dependent upon Constitution Pipeline in the summer of 2013.

 

Constitution Pipeline Project Manager Matt Swift says the possibility that local communities, who currently don’t have access to natural gas, might be able to take advantage of the resource is very exciting.

 

“We believe working with Leatherstocking is a great opportunity for the Constitution Pipeline to potentially facilitate a direct, tangible benefit for communities along the pipeline route,” added Swift.

 

Leatherstocking believes providing one of the area’s most abundant natural resources to the people living in the region makes good business and environmental sense.

 

“Our goal is to provide a lower cost, cleaner burning energy source to the people of the region than what they currently utilize,” said Leatherstocking Secretary, Lindsay Meehan.  “That is very exciting.”

 

For more information on the Constitution Pipeline, visit www.constitutionpipeline.com.

 

For more information about Leatherstocking Gas Company, visit www.leatherstockinggas.com.*

*Williams and Leatherstocking Gas Company (Nov 2, 2012) – Constitution Pipeline Agrees to Work with Local Gas Provider (email received by MDN)