Natural gas consumers in New Jersey will have greater accessibility to supply this winter now that Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. (Transco) has placed into full service the Rivervale South to Market project.

A portion of the project, 140,000 Dth/d, ramped up on July 1, and the remaining 50,000 Dth/d was placed into service on Sept. 1, pipeline operator Williams said. Transco has firm transportation agreements with Direct Energy Business Marketing LLC and UGI Energy Services LLC for the capacity.

“The demand for clean, reliable natural gas is at an all-time high, particularly in the northeastern markets where it has had a direct impact on significantly improving regional air quality,” CEO Alan Armstrong said. “The Rivervale South to Market project will continue this progress in a manner that minimizes environmental impacts by enhancing and expanding our existing Transco pipeline infrastructure.”

The project, all in New Jersey, included uprating 10.3 miles of existing pipeline, adding less than one mile of pipeline looping and upgrading/modifying existing facilities.

Federal regulators approved the project in August 2018, and construction began early this year. The expansion brings Transco’s system-design capacity to 17.2 million Dth/d.