![]() While Westchester County remains one of the preeminent hotspots for real estate development in the country, Con Edison may be throwing a wrench in developers’ hands with a gas moratorium. Con Edison issued an announcement over the weekend stating that the demand for new gas has surpassed its limits in the Southern Westchester area, prompting them to stop accepting new customers in Westchester beginning in March. “The demand for natural gas in our service area has been experiencing significant growth primarily due to the construction of new buildings, the opening of new businesses, and conversions from oil to cleaner-burning natural gas in existing buildings,” they posted on their website. “But all of this new demand for gas is reaching the limits of the current supplies to our service area.” As a result, to ensure they can “maintain reliable service to existing natural gas customers on the coldest days,” they will no longer be accepting applications for natural gas connections from new customers in most of Westchester beginning on March 15. They noted that there are some areas in the northernmost sections of the county where they have more capacity and may still be able to accept new customers. Existing customers will not be affected by the moratorium." According to Politico, the moratorium applies to communities in the county south of Bedford, Mount Kisco and New Castle. Scarsdale Assemblywoman Amy Paulin expressed surprise at the moratorium, noting that it will “devastate development in Westchester,” as several cities and communities are experiencing development renaissances, such as Yonkers and New Rochelle. “Developers are already telling us they can’t build more housing or commercial buildings until this is resolved,” Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said in a statement. “Con Ed and the Public Service Commission need to implement an immediate plan to solve this.” The Politico report states that “the Cuomo administration has rejected permits for most new gas pipeline projects in recent years, leading to pipeline developers shying away from proposing projects in the state. Environmental advocates are pressuring Cuomo to reject all new gas infrastructure, including a pipeline National Grid says is needed to avoid its own moratoriums on Long Island and in the city.” "To help prospective customers meet their energy needs in light of these market dynamics, PSC will be monitoring Con Edison’s engagement with customers to explore options to reduce their energy needs or meet their needs through non-natural gas energy sources," Department of Public Service spokesman Jim Denn said in a statement. In her own statement, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins added, “Con Edison's hasty announcement will hurt many communities and residents in the southern part of Westchester County. “Their actions will impede smart investments in commercial and affordable housing projects aimed at improving our neighborhoods and local economy. Following last year's storms we had hoped that Con Edison would work better to be a partner in improving our community, not a hindrance." “We are developing additional programs through our Smart Solutions proposals to the NY Public Service Commission, and are working closely with NYSERDA, which offers incentive programs for clean energy solutions,” Con Edison stated. “Heat pumps, solar thermal and baseboard electric heating are among the alternative solutions that can meet some or all of our customers’ heating needs.” source: Daily Voice
Although many were caught off guard by Con Edison’s announcement of a gas moratorium that will take effect in less than two months, one of Westchester’s top business minds has called the event “a wake-up call.”
Marsha Gordon, the President and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester, said that the moratorium “is a wake-up call for all who are focused on the economic present and future of Westchester and the entire metropolitan area.” “While the shortage announcement came as a surprise, it shouldn't have,” she said. “The supply crisis has been in the making for years as virtually any attempt to add major new natural gas capacity to the region has been either rejected or drowned out by calls for finding new alternative energy sources instead. ... In response, Gordon said that the BCW “will immediately organize a campaign to bring together the best minds from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to address the natural gas shortage crisis head-on and present viable, practical solutions.” “All of us share in the desire to shift away from carbon fuels to renewable forms of energy<“ she added. “However, realistically, this is not going to happen overnight. In the meantime, natural gas is the best and least objectionable energy source and a plentiful supply is available. “The problem is that there is insufficient transmission pipeline capacity to get it to us. This is a self-made problem that can and must be addressed immediately. Con Edison has the ability to deliver gas but it is unable to access additional supplies.” Gordon said that the BCW will be forming a task force made up of representatives of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. The task force will be charged with exploring and making specific recommendations about how to address the gas supply shortage “so that economic growth is not brought to a virtual standstill.” “While there is plenty of blame to go around for letting the situation reach a crisis, at this point we strongly believe that the focus must immediately turn to evaluating what steps can be taken in the shortest term possible to assure adequate natural gas is made available. "Anything short of this will quite literally cripple the development and redevelopment efforts that have finally taken hold most notably in the downtowns of our major urban centers, and that is not a viable option."
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