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The Business Council supports this legislation that requires before January 1, 2018, the State Energy Planning Board shall conduct a study of the State's supply of natural gas. The study would include an assessment of the need for additional transmission of natural gas in the State and to states in New England; the integrity and impacts of new natural gas infrastructure as it relates to the environment; the consequences to existing natural gas customers in the State of constraints in the natural gas delivery system; the economic demand for additional natural gas from residential, commercial, manufacturing and industrial sectors in the State.
A recent report conducted by the Institute for 21St Century Energy Institute concluded the following about natural gas in New York 1) its more expensive than other parts of the country, specifically the report concluded that residential customers pay 29% more than the national average while industrial customers are paying 62% more, 2) because New York pays a price premium, the high cost is negatively impacting employment and the GDP.
Demand for natural gas in New York is at an all-time high, with the state now consuming 5% of the total U.S. natural gas supply. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, consumption in New York is up 12% since 2011, and nationwide demand is projected to increase by 40% over the next 10 years.
A third party study to determine if New York’s aging infrastructure is straining to meet current needs and if New York has enough pipeline capacity to meet its growing demand would be a positive development.