There will be a significant increase in the volume of natural gas being brought to the New York Metro region as a result of multiple pipeline expansion projects from the Marcellus shale region. Several distribution pipelines will be put into service this winter.  According to the US Energy Information Administration, the pipelines will bring “3.5 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of additional capacity to New York/New Jersey and Mid-Atlantic markets”. In addition to this, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted permission to Spectra Energy to put into service a new pipeline that has been run to Manhattan from New Jersey to bring additional natural gas from Marcellus to the city. The expansion will provide enough energy for Con Edison to heat about 2 million additional homes.
National Grid also appears to be expanding its gas distribution on Long Island. For the fiscal year 2013, which ended March 31, the utility added 8,815 new commercial and residential customers. Because of the lack of natural gas main expansion on Long Island, only about 43 percent of Long Island businesses and residents use natural gas as a primary fuel. As demand continues to grow, the utility has undertaken an $83 million expansion project that will install 1.6 miles of new pipeline under the Rockaway Inlet, connecting parts of Queens, Brooklyn and Long Island to existing natural gas lines. “We’re making large infrastructure investments,” said Kenneth Daly, president of National Grid New York. “You have to build out the network, which we’re doing.”
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