FERC staff will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co.’s (Transco) proposed Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) project, which would expand the Transco system to serve additional needs of National Grid beginning with the 2019-2020 heating season.

Transco, a Williams pipeline, plans to place the project in service Sept. 15, 2019 (see Daily GPI, May 12). It would be designed to provide 400,000 Dth/d of firm transportation from Transco’s Compressor Station 195 in York County, PA, to the Rockaway Transfer Point, an existing interconnection between the Lower New York Bay Lateral and the Rockaway Delivery Lateral in New York State waters [PF16-5].

The project is fully subscribed. Transco has said it has precedent agreements in place to provide 188,700 Dth/d of incremental firm service to The Brooklyn Union Gas Co. (d/b/a National Grid NY) and 211,300 Dth/d of incremental firm service to KeySpan Gas East Corp. (d/b/a National Grid).

Facilities being considered for the project are:

FERC will accept public comment on the project through Sept. 23. In addition to written comments, the Commission has scheduled four public scoping sessions in September: Sept. 7 in Old Bridge, NJ; Sept. 8 in Brooklyn, NY; Sept. 14 in Quarryville, PA; and Sept. 15 in Somerset, NJ.

In July, FERC approved Transco’s New York Bay Expansion, which is designed to provide 115,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity into National Grid’s distribution system to the Rockaway Delivery Lateral and the Narrows meter station in order to serve New York city [CP15-527] (see Daily GPI, July 29). That project is fully subscribed, with construction expected to begin during the fourth quarter and in-service scheduled during the fourth quarter of 2017.