A plan by New England's governors to expand natural gas capability is in question after Massachusetts backed away from it.
Gov. Deval Patrick's administration had a change of heart after the state legislature shelved a so-called clean energy bill that would have enabled utilities within the commonwealth to sign long-term hydropower contracts with Canada. Governors in the region had proposed an electricity tariff to help fund the power lines.
Patrick energy spokeswoman Krista Selmi said the commonwealth needs to conduct more analysis of natural gas needs, forcing a delay in filing a pipeline-related tariff request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
"Massachusetts remains committed to working as a region to solve New England's most pressing energy challenges, including the need for additional clean energy resources such as renewables and large hydro and the associated transmission as well as natural gas capacity constraints," Selmi said in a statement. "We must, however, continue to understand the region's evolving needs as well as both the short- and the long-term impacts these infrastructure investments will have."
Environmentalists, who see Massachusetts as the latest battleground over the natural-gas extraction process known as fracking, praised the move.
The governors' plan would increase gas pipeline capacity by nearly 20% within three years. The harsh weather last winter triggered a spike in natural gas prices in New England and generated discussion over natural capacity.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners has proposed a $3.8 billion, 180-mile pipeline that would carry fracked gas from Marcellus Shale-heavy Pennsylvania through parts of northern Massachusetts into southern New Hampshire.
Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Co. has proposed public financing and ownership of natural gas pipeline capacity.
"MMWEC continues to believe the natural gas infrastructure component of the governors' energy infrastructure plan should move forward independent of the electric transmission piece," the company said in a statement late Wednesday. "While we understand and appreciate the need for electric transmission facilities to expand and diversify New England's energy portfolio, the need to expand the region's natural gas infrastructure is urgent and is bolstered by experience over the past two winters, when insufficient pipeline capacity caused serious electric reliability issues and economic hardship for the region."
