Critics say National Grid has not been honest about the need for a $1 billion natural gas pipeline to end a shortage that has impacted more than a thousand Long Island and New York City residents.
Opponents of the pipeline say National Grid tried to create a gas shortage to get support for the Williams Pipeline. The utility company had said it didn’t have the resources to keep up with consumer demand.
Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the company last week to begin connecting new gas hookups.
“National Grid has not been honest with its ratepayers about this gas shortage. There is no gas shortage, and Cuomo is essentially just calling the bluff finally,” said Robert Wood, with the environmental advocacy group 350Brooklyn.
Wood says Long Island state senators who support the pipeline are naive for creating infrastructure that would make the climate crisis worse.
Cuomo has called for a state probe into National Grid. The utility could face millions of dollars in fines.
