The council last October unanimously passed a resolution opposing the expansion of natural gas infrastructure in the area and asked Columbia Gas to provide the city facts and figures that show new infrastructure is needed to meet the city’s demand for gas, to repair its current infrastructure, and to lift its moratorium on new gas service in Northampton where alternatives cannot safely or adequately be utilized. “The costs associated with the alternate backfeed project are not in line with expected project and customer benefits,” he said.īut Kempic also took aim at Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz and the Northampton City Council. Kempic cited limited new growth potential in Northampton and cost as reasons for the cancellation of this project. The company contends that removal of leak-prone pipe, and offering energy-efficiency measures and load management solutions will maintain the safety, reliability and efficiency of its natural gas distribution system for Northampton and Easthampton, along with the rest of its service territory. Those projects include replacing 8,500 feet of the ConEd transmission line in Springfield, compressor station enhancement in Agawam, a 2-mile pipeline loop in Agawam and a new point of delivery in a non-residential area of Longmeadow. “Our determination is that we can accomplish the goals of removing leak-prone pipe in Agawam and West Springfield, as well as enhance operational flexibility, with the four remaining projects,” Kempic said. That spur pipeline, which connects to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline, has reached its limits, according to the company.Ĭolumbia Gas President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Kempic said in a statement that the decision to abandon the “alternate backfeed” was made based on review and analysis over the past few months of the cost impact and benefits to customers, and is unrelated to the work moratorium imposed by the state’s Department of Public Utilities on the Columbia Gas system. Instead, Columbia Gas has eliminated the “alternate backfeed” project, a 6-mile-long, 12-inch pipe that would have run between Agawam and Holyoke.Īt a projected cost of $24 million, that pipeline, serving customers in Holyoke, would have freed up capacity at what is called the Northampton gate station for at least eight to 10 years, allowing Columbia Gas to add to the 13,500 customers it already serves in Easthampton and Northampton through the 20-mile Northampton lateral pipeline. Two years ago, the company pledged that five interrelated projects throughout the region would increase the natural gas supply and put an end to the moratorium in 2020 or 2021.
The company last week announced that the moratorium for Northampton and Easthampton, which began in 2015 and has since meant new connections to its supply line are not allowed, will be extended due to changes in the planned “Greater Springfield Service Territory Reliability Project” first unveiled in November 2017. NORTHAMPTON - A moratorium on adding new natural gas customers in Northampton and Easthampton will continue indefinitely following a decision by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts to abandon a project aimed at increasing the pipeline capacity for both cities.
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