WYOMISSING, Pa., March 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Families and businesses in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey would have saved more than $890 million in energy costs had the proposed PennEast Pipeline been in place during the 2013-2014 winter, according to a key finding from a comprehensive energy market savings report and analysis released today by Concentric Energy Advisors, Inc. and PennEast Pipeline Company.
"The potential savings to energy users -- our families, small businesses, government facilities and many others -- thanks to the PennEast proposed capacity -- is a game changer for the region," said Peter Terranova, chairman of the PennEast Pipeline board of managers. "Imagine how the region could have benefited had nearly $900 million been injected into other parts of our local economies last winter? It is precisely why we are pursuing this project -- to help ensure reliability, stable energy prices and a local economic boost."
The study, "Estimated Energy Market Savings From Additional Pipeline Infrastructure Serving Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey," examined what natural gas prices in the region that would be served by PennEast could have been in the winter of 2013-2014 if an additional 1 Bcf/day of pipeline capacity had been available. Concentric evaluated the relationship between natural gas prices that actually occurred in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey relative to the natural gas demand experienced in the region each day, and the impact that additional pipeline capacity could have had by lowering natural gas prices from what otherwise occurred.
Concentric examined four primary areas of potential savings associated with additional pipeline infrastructure and lower natural gas prices in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey: 1) consumer savings associated with lower electric prices due to lower fuel costs for natural gas-fired electric generation; 2) savings due to natural gas electric generation displacing more costly oil-fired electric generation; 3) savings by industrial customers purchasing natural gas; and, 4) savings by customers of local distribution companies. The biggest savings would have come from lower electric prices due to the savings achievable by natural gas-fired electric generation, where Concentric estimated electric savings in excess of $400 million due to lower market area natural gas prices.
"Additional natural gas pipeline capacity, such as proposed by PennEast, has the potential to provide significant value to energy consumers in eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey by lowering natural gas prices during high price periods," concluded Concentric. Concentric's analysis focused on the winter of 2013-2014 since this period most accurately reflects the current market dynamics, including the inclusion of Spectra 's New Jersey-New York Expansion project and Transco's Northeast Supply Link -- both completed in late 2013. The study also notes that absent additional infrastructure, and with growing natural gas demand, the high natural gas prices experienced in the winter of 2013-2014, as well as those this winter, will continue.
"The findings of Concentric's report underscore the enormous and broad positive impacts of the proposed PennEast Pipeline," Terranova said. "When you combine the estimated economic impact of $1.6 billion from construction with $23 million in annual operations, and then add potential annual savings of nearly $900 million resulting from increased supply for the 2017-2018 winter, PennEast's value to the region is easily more than $2 billion. This augments our long-term vision of continued savings and support to the communities where we live and work."
The complete Concentric report is available at penneastpipeline.com/ConcentricEconomicStudy. The approximately 114-mile, 36-inch diameter PennEast Pipeline will transport approximately one billion cubic feet of clean, natural gas per day -- enough to serve approximately 4.7 million homes. It will run from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, to Transco's pipeline interconnection near Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey
About PennEast Member Companies:
AGL Resources www.aglresources.com
AGL Resources (GAS) is an Atlanta-based energy services holding company with operations in natural gas distribution, retail operations, wholesale services and midstream operations. AGL Resources serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries in seven states. The company also serves approximately 630,000 retail energy customers and approximately 1.2 million customer service contracts through its SouthStar Energy Services joint venture and Pivotal Home Solutions, which market natural gas and related home services. Other non-utility businesses include asset management for natural gas wholesale customers through Sequent Energy Management and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. AGL Resources is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com.
NJR Pipeline Company www.njresources.com
NJR Pipeline Company is a subsidiary of New Jersey Resources (NJR), a Fortune 1000 company that provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution and asset management. NJR Pipeline is part of NJR's strong financial profile and ongoing commitment to invest in and own midstream assets, including natural gas storage and transportation pipelines. NJR's midstream assets are currently comprised of a 5.53 percent stake in Iroquois Pipeline and a 50 percent stake in Steckman Ridge, a 12 Bcf storage field in south central Pennsylvania, and now equity ownership in the PennEast Pipeline.
Public Service Enterprise Group www.pseg.com
Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG) is a publicly traded diversified energy company with annual revenues of $10 billion. Its operating subsidiaries are: PSEG Power, Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) and PSEG Long Island.
South Jersey Industries www.sjindustries.com
South Jersey Industries (SJI), an energy services holding company based in Folsom, NJ, operates its business through two primary subsidiaries. South Jersey Gas, one of the nation's fastest growing natural gas utilities, delivers clean, efficient natural gas and promotes energy efficiency to over 365,000 customers in southern New Jersey. SJI's non-regulated businesses, under South Jersey Energy Solutions, promote efficiency, clean technology and renewable energy by developing, owning and operating on-site energy production facilities - including Combined Heat and Power, Solar, and District Heating and Cooling projects; acquiring and marketing natural gas and electricity for retail customers; providing wholesale commodity marketing and risk management services; and offering HVAC and other energy-efficiency related services.
Spectra Energy Partnerswww.spectraenergypartners.com
Spectra Energy Partners, LP (SEP) is a Houston-based master limited partnership, formed by Spectra Energy Corp (SEP). SEP is one of the largest pipeline MLPs in the United States and connects growing supply areas to high-demand markets for natural gas, natural gas liquids, and crude oil. These assets include more than 17,000 miles of transmission and gathering pipelines, approximately 150 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage, and approximately 4.8 million barrels of crude oil storage.
UGI Energy Services, LLC www.ugies.com
UGI Energy Services is a subsidiary of UGI Corporation (UGI). UGI Energy Services markets natural gas, electricity and liquid fuels to approximately 19,000 residential, commercial, industrial, institutional and government customers in nine states and Washington, D.C. In addition, it stores and delivers natural gas and generates electricity.