Massachusetts

NiSource Inc. disclosed that a federal investigation is underway into the natural gas pipeline explosions in September that rocked neighborhoods in the Greater Lawrence area of Massachusetts, killing one man.

A series of natural gas explosions and fires that rocked three Massachusetts communities in September killing one man and damaging 131 structures may have been caused by gaps in construction work orders for the old system that were prepared by NiSource Inc. subsidiary Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Massachusetts regulators on Monday ordered National Grid plc to halt all nonessential work in the state after excess natural gas was “inadvertently” introduced into pipelines, raising concerns of a repeat of last month’s Merrimack Valley explosions.

A construction restoration project is underway in the greater Lawrence area of Massachusetts as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts aims to restart natural gas service to customers by mid-November.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is aiming to have natural gas service restored to all residential and commercial customers by Nov. 19 and has begun the “massive replacement program” of the utility’s distribution system following a series of explosions on Sept. 13 in Merrimack Valley near Boston.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts on Sunday said it would “completely replace” the natural gas distribution system in the Merrimack Valley after a series of explosions and fires last Thursday killed one man and damaged or destroyed around 80 structures.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) on Friday ruled that Attorney General (AG) Maura Healey has jurisdiction to seek records involved in an investigation of whether ExxonMobil Corp.’s marketing of fossil fuel products violates the state’s consumer protection law.

A multi-year effort to add natural gas pipeline capacity from Appalachia to New England and Eastern Canada has hit a roadblock in Massachusetts, with Maine businesses crying for a resolution to bring relief for large electricity consumers.

FERC on Thursday gave Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) a green light to place into service its Connecticut Expansion Project in Hampden County, MA, and Hartford County, CT [CP14-529].