![]() ![]() ![]() A 2021 report from consultancy Brattle Group stated that existing pipeline investment plans could saddle U.S. If unchecked, the cycle will create a “self-reinforcing negative feedback loop for gas utilities,” putting a “crushing financial burden on those left on the network, especially low-income New Yorkers,” the report finds.Įvidence of the unsupportable costs of letting gas utilities carry on as usual has been piling up across the country. This will spur more and more people to disconnect from the gas system in favor of electricity for heating, cooking and other needs, further reducing the pool of customers left to pay off investments in the gas network. Utility data shows that even a relatively modest decline in customer gas consumption of 2 percent per year - well below what’s called for in the state’s plan - will drive up gas-delivery costs to four times their present levels by 2040 and seven times their present levels by 2050. Those costs could quickly rise to catastrophic levels, the report warns. While those replacements reduce safety hazards and emissions from leaking gas, they also come at extraordinary cost, the report finds - between $ 3 million and $ 6 million per mile, depending on how costs are accounted for, or up to an average of $ 60, 000 per customer served by the line being replaced.Īt the same time, New York’s plan for implementing its 2019 climate law calls for a gas-system transition that reduces fossil gas use by at least 33 percent by 2030 and 57 percent by 2035 and converts the “vast majority of gas customers to all-electric by 2050.” That will leave fewer and fewer customers to pay increasing pipeline-maintenance costs, as this diagram from the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s report illustrates.Īs gas consumption falls, the cost per customer of maintaining the gas network rises to unsustainable levels. Since the 2019 passage of New York’s climate law, the state’s gas utilities have spent $ 5 billion on infrastructure investments and identified $ 28 billion in pipeline replacement plans, the report states. That’s because gas utilities can no longer rely on decades of revenue from a growing customer base to pay off the costs of upgrading an aging and leak-prone pipeline network. “If we continue business as usual - which is what we’ve been doing since the climate law passed - we’re going to see ballooning costs, and a potential energy crisis, for New York gas customers,” she said. Without a state-guided shift, New York won’t just fail to meet the decarbonization goals it passed into law in 2019, said Lisa Dix, the coalition’s New York director. It concludes that New York must not only halt existing plans to expand and maintain gas pipelines crisscrossing the state but also replace them with alternatives such as underground “ thermal energy networks” and electric heat pumps and appliances. For more information and complete details on the program please click here for Upstate New York manufacturers and click here for Downstate New York manufacturers.That’s the key takeaway of the Future of Gas in New York State report released last week by the nonprofit Building Decarbonization Coalition. Funding will be made available to eligible manufacturers working with their regional NY State Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers on eligible activities. National Grid is streamlining its existing NY Public Service Commission approved Manufacturing Productivity Economic Development grants to help manufacturers who need assistance to develop new products or implement lean manufacturing, to produce critical items to support the pandemic response. Whether you need access to our Online Application System or wish to speak to a member of our team we remain as committed as ever to helping businesses with our economic development programs, services and expertise. During these challenging times, National Grid’s Economic Development Department is dedicated to maintaining a high level of service and support to customers and clients across our service territory. ![]()
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