FERC reinstates certificate for Transco natural gas pipeline expansion

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an Order on Remand Reinstating Certificate and Abandonment Authorization to Transco for the Regional Energy Access Expansion (REA) late Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. 

The order reinstates the certificate for REA as issued in its original certificate order and will take effect immediately upon the issuance of the mandate by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Williams said in a release Jan. 27.

“Williams appreciates FERC’s swift action at a time when natural gas infrastructure is being called on to reliably deliver at record volumes,” said Alan Armstrong, president and chief executive officer. 

In July 2024, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit scrapped FERC’s approval of the nearly $1 billion project, calling FERC’s decision “arbitrary and capricious” because it failed to adequately review the natural gas pipeline’s potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emission (OGJ Online, July 31, 2024).

Later, in September, then FERC-chairman Willie Phillips said during the commission’s monthly meeting that the court failed to understand the consequences of its decision on “the affordability and reliability” of supplies customers will “desperately” need in the winter heating season. He also noted that Transco had already taken steps to build out its system (OGJ Online, Sept. 19, 2024).

Recently, natural gas volumes on Transco have surged due to frigid temperatures, in addition to normal demand in the power and industrial sectors, Williams said, leading to an all-time peak day on Jan. 23, 2025, with a total volume of 19.17 bcfd.

The REA project, currently under construction, is designed to increase natural gas transportation capacity by up to 829,000 Dt/d to serve about 4.4 million customers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, annually, according to Williams.