FERC on Tuesday authorized Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC (Transco) to start partial service on the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project.

The order enables bi-directional flow on Transco’s existing pipeline system to add another 150 MMcf/d. FERC said the approved facilities include modified compressor stations in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.

Transco made the request for partial service earlier this month.

The 1.7 Bcf/d project would expand Transco to move natural gas from a constrained area in northeast Pennsylvania to Mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets. Most of the 200-mile greenfield portion of the project crosses Pennsylvania.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificated the project early last year and construction started a few months later. The Commission previously authorized partial service on brownfield portions of the project last August, adding 400 MMcf/d to the Transco system. The company expects to place the project into full service in the coming months.