National Grid releases new report on natural gas capacity in New York

National Grid released its Natural Gas Long-Term Capacity Supplemental Report for Downstate New York, which includes new recommendations for the state on natural gas capacity.

The report follows the original Natural Gas Long-Term Capacity Report, released on Feb. 24, which outlined 10 possible long-term natural gas capacity options for the future. National Grid held six public meetings on that report to gather feedback, which informed the two new recommendations in the Supplemental Report.

Those new recommendations include a non-pipeline solution and an infrastructure solution. The report assesses cost, deliverability, and reliability risks, and consists of a range of criteria, including areas of high customer feedback.

“The Supplemental Report provides these two potential pathways to solve for the capacity constraint issues in Downstate New York,” National Grid U.S. President Badar Khan said. “We look forward to a continuing dialogue with New York State to ensure a solution is agreed by June 2020, so it can be implemented in time for the winter of 2021/22.”

John Bruckner, National Grid’s President in New York, said the changing conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was also important in making these additional recommendations. “These include a reduction in overall demand, a modest supply increase based on ongoing internal reviews, a new risk impact analysis, and updated cost numbers for all the potential solutions that factor in the cost of carbon and customer cost impact,” Bruckner said.