Dem Politicians Pressure NY Gov to Block Iroquois Pipe Expansion
The Food & Water Watch (FWW) organization (anti-fossil fuel fanatics) has taken point on the left’s effort to block Iroquois Gas Transmission’s plan to upgrade compressor stations in the Empire State. Iroquois’ Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project increases horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, flowing more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. FWW held a “rally” (we’d call it a freak show) at the State Capitol in May, where various politicos joined paid protesters to put on a dog-and-pony-show for the cameras, delivering 8,000 form letters to Gov. Hochul’s office (see Radicals Keep Pressure on NY Gov. Hochul to Block Iroquois Upgrade). Yesterday, FWW reassembled largely the same group for another “we hate fossil fuels” rally, this time in wealthy, snobbish Westchester County. Some 69 Democrat politicians, along with paid protesters, were in attendance.
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We are extremely unimpressed with New York City’s main utility company, Consolidated Edison. Con Ed supplies customers in all of New York City and Westchester County with electricity, and major portions (but not all) of NYC and Westchester with natural gas. The company has thrown in its lot (colluded with) New York’s far-left Democrats on a plan to kill off natural gas for its customers, believing it can eliminate some of its competitors. Con Ed is more than happy to build new projects, like a six-mile electric transmission line through Queens, and then pass the $275 million price to its customers to pay back. The new transmission line is meant to deliver enough extra electricity that Con Ed can shut down the gas-fired peaker plants it uses to help supply electricity on heavy usage days.
Kinder Morgan issued its fourth quarter 2022 update yesterday. Among the news updates, we learned that work on two of three compressor station projects along the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey (near New York City) is now underway. There was also some big news about top management shuffles. CEO Steve Kean is retiring, setting off a game of musical chairs (or musical ladders) with existing employees moving up the ladder at the company.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) plan to flow more Marcellus gas to Westchester County, NY, and New York City, to be used for Consolidated Edison customers, is called the East 300 Upgrade Project. The East 300 project took a giant leap forward in April when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued permits that allow TGP to upgrade two existing compressor stations (in PA), and build a brand new compressor station in West Milford (Passaic County, NJ), just across the border and not far from Westchester County (see 
Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) plan to flow more Marcellus gas to Westchester County, NY and New York City for Consolidated Edison customers, called the East 300 Upgrade Project, took a giant leap forward last Thursday when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued permits that allow TGP to upgrade two existing compressor stations (in PA), and build a brand new compressor station in West Milford (Passaic County, NJ), just across the border and not far from Westchester County. This is a major victory and a sign this project will now get completed.
Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), the local gas and electric utility serving Manhattan Island and Westchester County in the New York City region, has proposed increasing electricity rates by 17.6% and natural gas rates by a stratospheric 28.1% beginning Jan. 1, 2023. Why so high for both? Lack of natural gas in the region. Why is there a lack of natural gas? Lack of pipelines from the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale.
In an effort to flow more Marcellus natural gas to a starving New York City, Kinder Morgan cut a deal with utility company Consolidated Edison in 2019 to provide more gas by beefing up capacity along its Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) that feeds NYC, allowing Con Ed to avoid cutting customers off from natgas hookups (see 
In March 2019 natural gas utility Consolidated Edison, which supplies Manhattan, the Bronx and most of Westchester County, slapped a moratorium on new natural gas customers from hooking up to the grid in Westchester due to lack of gas supplies (see 
When bullies get away with their bullying, as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has done with natural gas utility National Grid (see 
Consolidated Edison (Con Ed), the electric and natural gas utility that services parts of New York City and to the north of NY, Westchester County, is getting desperate in their bid to locate sites where they can unload CNG (compressed natural gas) trucks into their pipeline network in Westchester County. You may recall Con Ed was the first utility to slap a moratorium on any new natgas customers from hooking up to their supply system in Westchester, back in March (see 
Good news for residents and politicians in Westchester County, NY! (Yes, we’re being facetious.) Consolidated Edison, the local electric and gas utility for parts of New York City and its suburbs, says they’ve cut a deal with Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) to get more gas supplies flowing to Westchester County (northern suburb of NYC) and they will potentially lift their moratorium on new natgas customer hookups…four years from now in 2023.
On Friday MDN told you that Consolidated Edison’s deadline to apply to be added as a natural gas customer in Westchester County had arrived (see 
Today is the last day for customers who want to apply to be added to Consolidated Edison’s natural gas delivery system in Westchester County, NY to apply. There’s no guarantee if they do apply they’ll be accepted, but after today new applications to get gas service will automatically go on a waiting list. That is, the moratorium on new customers in Westchester essentially begins NOW, today–thanks to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s policies in prohibiting new natural gas pipelines.
Now that the reality has begun to sink in that there will be no magic bullet, no magic wand waved to prevent Consolidated Edison from refusing to add new customers (like hotels, apartment buildings, etc.) to its natural gas distribution system in Westchester County, NY, politicians and business leaders in the county are beginning to soil themselves. Certainly metaphorically–maybe literally.