Bloomberg By Gerson Freitas Jr, Naureen S Malik, and Kriti Gupta 11/21/2019
National Grid won’t connect customers after pipeline rejection
Governor Cuomo is giving company until Nov. 26 to solve issue
In five days, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo may decide to expel one of the world’s biggest utilities from the state’s most populous region.
That threat is the culmination of an extraordinary showdown between Cuomo and British energy giant National Grid Plc over the future of natural gas. The clash, hinging on the utility’s refusal to connect new gas customers, has already delayed thousands of construction projects across Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.
And it all began with New York rejecting a single permit for a pipeline, which the utility says is crucial for meeting surging gas demand in the region.
The fight lays bare just how fraught America’s relationship with gas has grown. As hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has made the fuel cheap and plentiful, cities and states are pushing residents to switch to gas heating because it burns cleaner than oil. At the same time, left-leaning politicians argue pipelines will only prolong dependence on fossil fuel. While that debate is nationwide, nowhere has it become as explosive as in New York.
More:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-21/time-is-running-out-in-new-york-s-bitter-natural-gas-showdown
