National Grid Moratorium Lifted

ALBANY, N.Y.  – Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced an agreement has been reached with National Grid to lift the utility’s current moratorium on gas service in Long Island, Queens and Brooklyn. In addition, the utility is required to pay up to $36 million in penalties to compensate customers who were unable to receive service, invest in clean energy businesses across the state and in new energy efficiency measures.

The announcement comes as advocates continue to push back against the National-Grid-backed Williams Pipeline – a fracked gas pipeline that would run from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, through Middlesex and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey, to the Rockaways in New York City – and threatens to pollute some of our most ecologically important waterbodies, including Raritan Bay, Lower New York Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.

A statement follows from Kimberly Ong, Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):

“The agreement is a massive relief to the thousands of New Yorkers unfairly harmed by a ploy to build more fossil fuel infrastructure. Nevertheless, the facts remain the same – dangerous gas pipelines have no place in New York. Moving forward with the Williams Pipeline would be a total contradiction of our climate goals and jeopardize the health of marine life and communities across the state. Governor Cuomo must hold firm and shelve this reckless project once and for all.

###

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Bozeman, Montana; and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.