Massachusetts

Electric distribution companies (EDC) in Massachusetts may contract for natural gas pipeline capacity to fuel power generation, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) said late Friday. Costs would be passed on to customers. The order is a win for pipeline projects aiming to serve Northeast power generation and heating demand with Appalachian gas.

The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) doesn’t want New England to meet its energy needs with a large-scale newbuild natural gas pipeline — namely Kinder Morgan Inc.’s (KMI) Northeast Energy Direct (NED) — so it’s seeking to overturn Massachusetts utility capacity contracts that support the project.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP), which recently advised New Hampshire to go it alone to secure natural gas pipeline capacity, is giving similar advice to Massachusetts.

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC, which recently advised New Hampshire to go it alone to secure natural gas pipeline capacity, is giving similar advice…

Tennessee Gas Pipeline LLC (TGP) is offering the state of Maine a 20-year capacity deal on its proposed Northeast Energy Direct (NED) expansion that it says will drive down Mainers’ natural gas and electricity costs. Meanwhile, Massachusetts has questioned the need for the project in a regulatory filing.

A nonprofit organization that represents the six New England states on regional electricity issues has asked FERC to conduct an expanded analysis of Algonquin Gas Transmission’s Incremental Market (AIM) expansion project to encompass potential further expansions in the future.

National Grid US named John Donleavy chief operating officer covering natural gas and electric utility operations in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, according to National Grid US President Tom King. Donleavy is the former CEO of Vermont Electric Co. King credited Donleavy with leading an enterprise-wide business process transformation and the largest capital infrastructure construction program in the company’s and Vermont’s history. Reporting to King, Donleavy will oversee all aspects of National Grid’s operations in the United States, including gas and power transmission/distribution systems, generation, liquefied natural gas control center operations, emergency planning and a variety of operating, safety and environmental programs.

Springfield, MA, officials plan to ask Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts for $1 million to cover damages tied to the explosion on its natural gas system in late November. The explosion on the Columbia Gas system rocked Springfield in a three to four block radius, damaging 42 homes and businesses and sending 18 people, mostly first responders, to area hospitals (see NGI, Dec. 3, 2012). Human error by a utility employee was cited as the cause of the blast. According to the initial findings of the fire marshal and the state’s Department of Public Utilities, an unidentified employee of Columbia Gas “accidentally punctured” a pipe in the vicinity of a business on Worthington St., which was the epicenter of the explosion. The proposed settlement would be carved into three components, each carrying a $300,000 to $400,000 price tag. The first component would include fixed costs, such as damages to emergency vehicles, over-time costs and costs for clean-up activities, while the second component addresses personal injury costs and lost time for city workers. The third component would go toward a redevelopment effort of the area.

The top officials of Springfield, MA, plan to ask Columbia Gas Co. of Massachusetts for $1 million to cover damages tied to the explosion on its natural gas system in late November.