trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/CW738bbD2UFfp4gMO2aTRg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

NY governor threatens to replace National Grid as gas provider, cites moratorium

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


NY governor threatens to replace National Grid as gas provider, cites moratorium

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered state regulators to broaden their investigation of National Grid USA's gas moratorium in parts of downstate New York, raising the possibility that the gas utility could be replaced in its service territories.

Cuomo directed the New York Department of Public Service, or DPS, to use its authority to force National Grid to provide gas to certain customers denied service amid an ongoing standoff between the state and utility over a stalled gas pipeline project. The governor told the DPS in an Aug. 27 letter to prepare to impose penalties and sanctions against National Grid and to line up alternatives for service in "some or all of the areas" the company serves in the event the utility refuses to begin flowing gas to impacted customers.

National Grid said in May that it could not hook up new customers for natural gas distribution in Long Island and New York City until the state reconsiders granting a critical water quality permit for the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC system. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation refused to grant a permit to the Williams Cos. Inc. subsidiary's Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which would deliver gas from Pennsylvania shale fields to the New York City area.

"My administration has received reports that National Grid is refusing service to some customers who initiated new construction projects well before National Grid's announcement of its moratorium, including affordable housing developments," Cuomo said in the letter. "If these reports are accurate, National Grid is delaying, if not denying, services needed to shelter disadvantaged families."

Cuomo said his office has received complaints from National Grid customers who suspended service during building renovations and were turned away by the company when they sought to restore service. Those reports come from customers including homeowners, small businesses and a nonprofit group that runs a senior center, he said.

"If these reports are accurate, National Grid's refusal to resume service could endanger the health and safety of New Yorkers," Cuomo said. "Affected homeowners likely include families without the means to secure alternative residences, and National Grid's refusal of service could deprive these families of heat as temperatures fall."

The action by New York State marks the latest salvo in the standoff over the Northeast Supply Enhancement project, which has become one of the key cases in a broader national debate over whether states are abusing their authority to reject pipeline construction previously approved by federal regulators.