Trump Visiting Houston Wednesday to Sign Pipeline Exec Order
Last week MDN reported that the white hot chatter that President Trump will soon issue an Executive Order (EO) overruling states like New York from preventing critical federal pipeline projects is about to become a reality (see Trump Exec Order Coming to Overrule NY on Blocked Pipelines). And indeed it is. This coming Wednesday, Trump will visit a union training center in Houston where he will announce (and presumably sign) the EO.
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Last August the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a decision overruling the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to allow National Fuel Gas Company’s Northern Access Pipeline project to proceed (see 
In addition to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) slapping down the New York DEC this week (see our lead story), on Wednesday the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals slapped down both New York and North Carolina regulators who tried to block three important Williams pipeline projects, all related to the mighty Transco Pipeline.
The Cuomo-corrupted New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is spitting and sputtering, “warning” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that if they (FERC) decide to rule that NY took too long to approve the Williams Constitution Pipeline and now gives the project a go-ahead, the DEC intends to rain down all sorts of legal hell on the agency. Which tells us one thing: the DEC is VERY nervous that their power to block pipeline projects is about to be neutered.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally got his wish last year by forcing the operator of the Indian Point Energy Center (nuclear power plant) located near New York City to agree to partially close down next year, and fully close down in 2021. We recently got a small preview of what will happen when Indian Point goes offline. In March Indian Point went completely offline for two weeks–scheduled outage for one reactor, and a malfunction in the other. Guess which form of energy took up the slack? It wasn’t solar. It wasn’t wind. It wasn’t hydro. It wasn’t magic fairy dust. It was natural gas that rode in to save the day.
Anti-fossil fuel radicals are making noises, threatening noises, about how they may react when and if (as seems likely) the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decides to overrule New York State and allow the Williams Constitution Pipeline to finally, after five years, get built.
Utility giant National Grid has officially begun to caution (promise? warn? threaten?) “dozens of midsize companies” in New York City now applying to become new natural gas customers they may not be able to hook up for natgas–unless Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE) is approved in a *timely* fashion. Promise made, promise kept.
Andrew Cuomo, contrary to the picture he attempts to paint for gullible voters and the even more gullible mainstream news reporters, is a very weak “leader.” In what has become an identifiable pattern, when Cuomo is put under pressure by the fringe left environmental lobby, he folds to that pressure like a cheap suit. Totally gives in and accedes to whatever weird demands they make–like no new gas pipelines. Even when it economically hurts the state.
In 2016 Crestwood Equity Partners formed a joint venture with New York City’s largest utility company, Consolidated Edison Inc., to operate a critical link of pipelines and storage facilities in the heart of the Utica/Marcellus, called Stagecoach Gas Services (see 
In February MDN told you about an important decision by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that has the potential to override New York State and allow both the Constitution Pipeline and Northern Access Pipeline projects to get built (see 
Williams is in the fight of its life to get New York State to approve its Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project (see 
USA Today recently published an article picked up from the investor website 24/7 Wall Street that analyzes the average cost per kilowatt hour for electricity state by state–all 50 states. It’s not surprising that Hawaii and Alaska are in the top two highest rates in the nation, separated from the Lower 48.
You can feel the excitement and anticipation building. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the Constitution Pipeline from northeast Pennsylvania into central New York in 2014, more than four years ago. This year, 2019, may be the year construction finally begins–and the year antis who have fought this pipeline every inch of the way finally LOSE.