Two pipeline companies this week argued to federal regulators that the lines can offer alternatives to Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC's Southgate project, contending that using the other systems would be preferable to accepting Mountain Valley's environmental impacts.
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC on Sept. 17 told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that the agency had "completely overlooked" advantages of a Transco alternative.
The 375-MMcfe/d, 73-mile Mountain Valley Southgate natural gas project would connect the mainline of the Mountain Valley Pipeline near Chatham, Va., and extend to Rockingham and Alamance counties in North Carolina. It is supported by a 300,000-Dth/d firm contract with utility Dominion Energy North Carolina, formerly PSNC Energy.
In making its case, Transco joins the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which on Sept. 16 argued that FERC staff too easily dismissed the potential for Atlantic Coast to serve as an alternative to the Southgate project.
Both pitches were filed as comments on FERC staff's draft environmental impact statement for the project. (FERC docket CP19-14)
Expanding Transco system
Transco said it would be able to expand its fully subscribed system and extend it following the existing Cardinal Pipeline right of way in a significantly less impactful manner than envisioned by Southgate while still being able to meet utility PSNC's demand needs.
"Specifically, to provide the same capacity to PSNC as being proposed by MVP, Transco would need only to install a 37.7-mile pipeline lateral, which would follow the existing Cardinal Pipeline right-of-way, and perform only minor modifications to existing compression at Transco's Compressor Station 160 in Rockingham County, North Carolina," it said.
According to Transco, the alternative would represent a substantial reduction in required facilities and land use, eliminating the need for a greenfield pipeline and requiring no new compression.
The operator also contended that an alternative would significantly reduce costs for shippers and their customers, estimating that a monthly reservation recourse rate would be "at least 40% lower."
Moreover, it said this alternative is "a vast improvement of the '[Atlantic Coast Pipeline] route' described in comments to the [draft environmental impact statement] filed by ACP." The Transco solution "would not require any changes to operation of the PSNC system as Transco would be able to make deliveries at the same PSNC receipt points to be served by MVP."
Atlantic Coast on Sept. 18 had said its route was close to the eastern side of the PSNC service area and that Atlantic Coast had leased capacity on the Piedmont system that could be used to ship gas to the PSNC system near Clayton, N.C. Of note, Dominion Energy Inc., which has taken the lead in the joint venture Atlantic Coast project, earlier completed a merger with PSNC parent SCANA Corp.
North Carolina review
In response to the alternatives, Mountain Valley Southgate emphasized the prior review by North Carolina regulators of PSNC's application for compensation under a service agreement with MVP Southgate.
PSNC, now known as Dominion Energy North Carolina, "demonstrated last year in an application to the North Carolina Utilities Commission that the MVP Southgate project offered the best-cost option for meeting its customers' demands for natural gas," an MVP Southgate spokesperson said Sept. 18. The PUC previously recognized the need for more interstate gas capacity in North Carolina to increase competition, supply access and service reliability, the spokesperson added.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, however, has several times questioned the need for the project in filings in the FERC docket.
Maya Weber is a reporter with S&P Global Platts. S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts are owned by S&P Global Inc.
