Con Edison is exploring creative solutions, plus pipelines, to meet demand
WESTCHESTER COUNTY—The increasing popularity of natural gas, the rise of commercial and residential development in the county, and state-imposed restrictions prohibiting new pipelines are combining to challenge Con Edison’s ability to meet natural gas demand for the Westchester area.
Allan Drury, spokesperson for Con Edison, told American Gas, “The demand for natural gas on peak days—cold, winter days—has increased due to customers converting from oil to gas, as well as gas service to new buildings. At the same time, the state has stopped approving new interstate transmission.
“We have to make sure we can provide reliable service to our customers. We can’t have natural gas reliability issues on the days when customers need it most to stay comfortable,” he said.
That commitment to ongoing reliability has led the utility to initiate a temporary moratorium on new gas connections. That moratorium took effect on March 15.
“The moratorium is an acknowledgement of the reality that we cannot keep signing up new gas customers if we don’t have adequate supply to serve them on peak days,” Drury told us. The area affected by the moratorium is already providing service to 240,000 existing Con Edison customers.
In addition to the moratorium, the company is also exploring a variety of additional, supplemental energy solutions, including new Westchester-based renewable natural gas plants and trucked-in compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas.
“It’s important to note that all of our customers will continue to receive gas,” Drury said. “But we are working with customers to reduce their gas usage even as we work to increase supply.”
The utility is continuing to engage with pipeline developers with the goal of adding interstate transmission capacity that can receive the required approvals.