Legislators voice opposition to National Grid LNG project

(Updated 9:36 a.m. with corrected information)
PROVIDENCE – Providence legislators on Wednesday denounced a proposed natural gas liquefaction facility project in the capital city, calling on federal regulators to reject enabling permits and for city lawmakers to withhold subsidies.
Six state representatives and three state senators, all Providence Democrats, submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, known as FERC, asking the energy regulator to reject an application from National Grid PLC to develop a $180 million facility in the South Providence neighborhood.
The group cited a number of reasons why the facility, which would produce liquefied natural gas, or LNG, would have a negative impact in Rhode Island. They include safety concerns for the neighborhood, infrastructure costs for state ratepayers and a potentially damaging environmental impact.
“As elected officials representing the districts most impacted by this proposal, we urge you look out for the safety of current and future residents of our community and reject National Grid’s application,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter to FERC.

National Grid spokesman David G. Graves shot back, saying the lawmakers’ timing was bewildering, considering the project has been in the works for about a year and there wasn’t any noise during the allotted period of time FERC allows for public comment. He also expressed concerns about the content of the letter, saying LNG has already existed in that location for 40 years “safely and without incident.
“There are a lot of inaccuracies that were played out in this letter,” he said.

The state lawmakers also called on Providence officials to reject any National Grid proposal for a tax stabilization agreement, saying the project is a bad deal for the city.

Graves said the company, Rhode Island’s largest utility company, was in negotiations with the city for a tax-stabilization agreement, calling it a bookkeeping procedure that allows the company to budget the cost over time.
“I think it’s beneficial for both the city and company to know exactly how much is coming in over a period of time,” Graves said.

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Rep. Joseph S. Almeida, D-Providence, who co-wrote the letter to FERC and represents the South Providence neighborhood, said, “No matter how you look at it, this project is a money-maker for the utility at the expense of our community and our state.”

The LNG facility would cool supplies of natural gas, convert it to liquefied state and allow it be stored. National Grid has said this process helps ensure energy reliability and price consistence, as it allows the company to supply natural gas for Rhode Island electrical users during peak demand on the coldest days of the year. The state’s constrained natural gas infrastructure prevents a sufficient supply of natural gas from entering the state to match demand during peak periods of time, forcing National Grid to purchase energy off the spot market from more expensive energy resources. The result is spiking electricity costs during winter months, which – excluding the most recent winter which was relatively mild – has evoked public outcry in year’s past. National Grid says the Fields Point facility would help the utility meet demand during future winters and keep costs more consistent.
But lawmakers are skeptical, saying the natural gas once liquefied will more likely be exported on tanker trucks to other locations, “primarily in Massachusetts,” according to a press release.
“National Grid is asking us, the ratepayers, to foot the $180 million bill for this project for what? So they can increase their own profits by exporting LNG out of the state,” Almeida continued. “This does nothing to benefit our constituents, and it does nothing to benefit my neighbors on the South Side.”
Graves said the majority of what’s manufactured at the facility would be sent to Massachusetts, but argued Almeida’s point that Rhode Islanders would pay.
“They seem to imply that the construction cost will be entirely paid for by Rhode Islanders, but the cost will be borne by those who use the LNG manufactured at the site,” Graves said. “Rhode Islanders will reap 100 percent of the property tax benefits and only pay a small portion of the cost of constructing it.”

Providence Ward One City Councilman Seth Yurdin earlier this year introduced a city resolution calling for a comprehensive analysis of the proposed plan, which was approved by the full council.
Rep. Aaron Regunberg, D-Providence, who also co-wrote the letter, warned against the climate consequences of expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, saying city lawmakers must take that into account.
“Mayor [Jorge O.] Elorza and the Providence City Council have taken credit for being leaders on climate and environmental issues. But if the city awards a tax-stabilization agreement to National Grid to support this project, then it is our belief that the mayor and council can no longer claim this kind of climate leadership,” he said.
Kathryn Cox, a National Grid stakeholder coordinator, wrote on the company website that the company expects construction to begin in November, with a projected in-service date of November 2018.
In addition to Almeida and Regunberg, Reps. Christopher Blazekewski, Grace Diaz, Edith Ajello and John J. Lombardi, along with Sens. Gayle Goldin, Juan Pichardo and Harold M. Metts signed the letter.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of an open house. There is no scheduled upcoming open house, as the matter is currently under consideration by FERC.

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