Williams Partners LP subsidiary Northwest Pipeline LLC has applied for authorization from FERC for the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade project in Washington to enhance reliability and capacity for Puget Sound Energy (PSE) customers.

Northwest has executed firm agreements with PSE to provide an incremental 196,311 Dth/d of firm capacity on the lateral. PSE, which operates the state’s largest natural gas distribution system, serves nearly 800,000 gas customers in six counties with a more than 26,000-mile network of gas mains and service lines.

The Williams project would serve growing demand in the North Seattle region.

According to the filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Northwest plans to replace nearly seven miles of eight-inch diameter pipeline with 20-inch diameter pipeline in southern Snohomish County to the north of Seattle [CP17-441]. The company also would rebuild a meter station and replace and relocate other equipment.

Pending regulatory approvals, construction is expected to begin sometime in 2Q2019 and be completed late in 2019.

The 4,000 mile Northwest Pipeline, which stretches from New Mexico to the Canadian border in Washington state, is an artery for natural gas in the Pacific Northwest. With a capacity of 3.8 million Dth/d, the bi-directional system crosses six states and pulls natural gas from supply fields in the Rockies, Canada and the San Juan Basin.