As the Nov. 1 official start of winter approached, two new outlets for Appalachian gas were given the go-ahead Thursday to start-up service for Northeastern deliveries.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s (TGP) Niagara Expansion project, and the Tuscarora Lateral built by National Fuel Gas (NFG) and Empire Pipeline, both received the nod from FERC after they notified the Commission that their projects are complete.

TGP’s Niagara Expansion in Chautauqua and Erie Counties, NY, and Mercer County, PA, will provide 158,000 Dth/d of incremental firm transportation service for Seneca Resources Corp., moving gas to an interconnection with TransCanada Pipeline at Niagara Falls, NY. TGP will utilize capacity on its 200 and 300 Line systems and leased capacity from National Fuel Gas Supply (NFG). The facilities include a 3.1-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline looping segment (Loop 224); modifications at Compressor Station 219; a new pig launcher/receiver at Compressor Station 224; and modifications at the Hamburg Meter Station.

The Niagara Expansion was designed to work in conjunction with the Northern Access project, a 97-mile pipeline in Pennsylvania and New York developed by NFG, which received FERC in-service approval three days earlier (see Daily GPI, Oct. 20). The two projects had received certification at the same time (see Daily GPI, March 3).

NFG and Empire’s Tuscarora Lateral in Steuben County, NY, and Tioga County, PA, also is going into service and involved construction of 17 miles of small-diameter pipeline and leasing and storage arrangements between the two companies.