Thursday, 28 Mar 2024

Cuomo Threatens National Grid: Provide Gas or Lose Your License

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and a utility that provides gas to New York City and Long Island have been locked in a standoff since May, when New York regulators blocked the construction of a $1 billion natural gas pipeline that would have run from Pennsylvania to New Jersey and New York.

The utility, National Grid, says the pipeline is crucial to meeting the rising energy demand in the region and has imposed a moratorium, refusing to activate gas hookups for both new and returning customers.

On Tuesday, the fight took a sharp turn after Mr. Cuomo threatened to revoke National Grid’s license to operate in the southern part of New York.

Mr. Cuomo, in a letter, accused the utility of “mishandling” its gas supply system and recklessly disregarding its obligations as a public utility when it issued the moratorium.

The utility’s fundamental legal obligation “was to plan and provide for future needs,” the governor wrote. “You failed by your own admission.”

National Grid, which supplies gas to 1.8 million customers in New York City and on Long Island, said it would review Mr. Cuomo’s letter and respond accordingly.

“We continue to work with all parties on these critical natural gas supply issues on behalf of all our customers in downstate New York,” the utility said in a statement.

Mr. Cuomo’s letter, sent to two National Grid executives, essentially boiled down to an ultimatum: either the utility would supply gas to all those requesting it, or the governor would seek to revoke its license in two weeks.

“I’m not going to allow New Yorkers to be extorted,” Mr. Cuomo said in an interview on NY1 on Tuesday morning.

“They’re not the only utility in the world, and a lot of companies would like to have this franchise,” he added.

It was unclear what steps, if any, the Public Service Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities, would take in response to Mr. Cuomo’s letter. A spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Environmental groups have opposed the pipeline, arguing that it would destroy fragile ecosystems and undermine efforts to reduce New York’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Last month, Mr. Cuomo ordered National Grid to restore gas to customers who had either moved to a new home or had temporarily turned off their service. He also said the utility could face millions of dollars in penalties and ordered an investigation.

In his letter, Mr. Cuomo said National Grid had “improperly denied service to over 1,100 households.”

He also criticized the utility, saying it linked its future to the pipeline, which he called “risky at best,” and failed to explore other short-term or long-term options to provide gas from other sources.

“The choice was never between the pipeline or an immediate moratorium,” he wrote. “There were, and are, certainly other short-term solutions.”

National Grid also operates in upstate New York, where it provides both gas and electric service. Mr. Cuomo’s letter did not address the utility’s services there.

National Grid is not the only utility in New York to impose a moratorium in the New York City region. In March, Con Edison stopped new gas hookups in a large swath of Westchester County, saying its existing pipelines could not meet rising demand.

In April, Con Edison said it had reached an agreement with a pipeline operator that would provide it with a fresh supply of natural gas. But the company said that under the deal, it would not get additional gas capacity until November 2023.

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