Enbridge | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | North Carolina | Pipelines | Regulation | Virginia
FERC Approves East Tenn. NatGas System Alignment in NC, TN, VA
Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an Enbridge project to update its East Tennessee Natural Gas (ETNG) pipeline system. The project is referred to as the ETNG System Alignment Program Project, a project that heretofore was not on our radar screen. ETNG plans to add two electric compressor stations and pipeline capacity in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. In what has become a typical pattern, FERC Chairman Willie Phillips (Democrat) and Commissioner Mark Christie (Republican) voted to approve the project. Radicalized Commissioner Allison Clements (Democrat, former NRDC attorney) voted against approving the project.
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost took legal action Monday, seeking to force Austin Master Services in Martins Ferry (Belmont County), OH, to correct “egregious violations of Ohio law” regarding storage of oil and gas waste that he says threatens the Ohio River (500 feet away) and Martins Ferry’s drinking water supply (1,000 feet away). Austin Master Services serves the Marcellus/Utica industry (and other industries) with radiological waste management solutions, including remediation, decontamination & decommissioning (D&D), and transportation. The company was bought by and is now a subsidiary of PA-based American Environmental Partners, Inc. (see 
Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE) grants cover part of the cost of building new natural gas pipelines to connect homes and businesses, typically in rural parts of the state, to homegrown Marcellus Shale gas supplies. We’ve written about many of the dozens of PIPE grant projects awarded over the years (
In 2004, Pennsylvania implemented one of the most aggressive mandates to adopt wind and solar energy. At the time, less than 1% of net energy generation came from wind and solar in the Keystone State. In 2023, after the state had spent nearly $1.5 billion in subsidies, wind and solar generated less than 2%. And yet current Gov. Josh Shapiro (liberal Democrat) wants to double down by requiring 35% of electricity to come from politically favored sources, such as wind and solar, by 2035. The one energy source that has PROVEN to reduce carbon dioxide emissions? That would be natural gas, which is not on the politically favored sources list.
South Carolina House Bill H.5118, sponsored by S.C. House Speaker Murrell Smith, addresses the pressing need for more power generation in the Palmetto State in the wake of explosive population growth. H.5118 would establish specific timelines for the S.C. Public Service Commission (SCPSC) and other permitting agencies to rule on applications for all future projects, including gas-fired power plants. The legislation would also establish a streamlined process by which all future appeals go straight to the S.C. Supreme Court (which happens about 99% of the time). Yet radicalized leftist groups like Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC) are having a heart attack, trying to defeat this commonsense bill.
As we told you last week, the problem-plagued Freeport LNG export plant continues to be mostly offline following an episode of cold temps in January (see 
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