Pennsylvania, New Jersey utilities tout $1B pipeline project
PHILADELPHIA – A proposed $1 billion pipeline that would tap Marcellus Shale natural gas production is being touted by a group of utilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
A story published Thursday in The Philadelphia Inquirer said the 118-mile pipeline from Luzerne County in northeastern Pennsylvania to the Trenton, New Jersey, area would bring low prices and stable electricity rates and spur a manufacturing renaissance in both states.
The PennEast Pipeline Co. filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for authorization to proceed with the project.
Environmentalist groups vow to oppose the authorization, which would allow the pipeline to claim easements by eminent domain.
The pipeline would be built and operated by a subsidiary of UGI Corp. in Valley Forge. Organizers say construction would begin in 2017.