National Grid to deliver natural gas by truck to meet winter demand

While much of the US has plentiful supplies of gas, with production at record levels and climbing, some gas suppliers in the Northeast still struggle to meet demand on the coldest days in winter. National Grid has opted to take a proactive stance, and implement temporary solutions which aim to ease the problem.

For example, at a recent sitting of the Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board, it was agreed that National Grid would be permitted to install a temporary LNG vaporisation facility in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, to aid the provision of gas to Newport, Portsmouth and Middletown on Aquidneck Island. This move is designed to prevent a repeat of the events of last January, in which, during what has been described as a ‘brutal freeze’, 7500 customers on Aquidneck Island lost gas supplies.

A long-term solution is largely dependent on the completion of supply enhancement pipeline projects. However, there has been opposition to the buildout of pipeline infrastructure, particularly in New York state, which has caused significant delays.

For example, regulators in New York and New Jersey have so far rejected a US$1 billion Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, proposed by Williams Cos Inc. Nonetheless, the company remains hopeful that it will be able to overcome its opposition and complete its project.

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/13112019/national-grid-to-deliver-natural-gas-by-truck-to-meet-winter-demand/