The Industrial Energy Consumers of America (IECA) on Feb. 6 sent a letter to Congress urging lawmakers to quickly advance energy permitting legislation to expedite natural gas pipeline capacity. IECA stated that when there is inadequate pipeline capacity, manufacturing companies are always the first to be curtailed at significant costs. Paul N. Cicio, President of IECA, issued the following statement: “The manufacturing sector’s economic growth has never before faced such a growing crisis as we are faced with today, due to inadequate natural gas pipeline capacity. The recent protracted cold weather has once again shown the fragility of our nation’s natural gas system, as 44 pipelines from across the country issued operational flow orders (OFOs) or curtailment notices to manufacturing companies requiring them to reduce demand in order to service the needs of homeowners, power companies, and LNG exports. Curtailment can cost millions of dollars per day, disrupt operations, damage equipment, and impact supply chains for consumer, industrial, and national defense products. The manufacturing sector is especially vulnerable along the entire East Coast from Georgia to New York. There is zero availability of firm natural gas pipeline transportation that is needed to expand existing facilities or invest in new ones.” The Industrial Energy Consumers of America is a nonpartisan association of leading manufacturing companies with $1.3 trillion in annual sales, more than 12,000 facilities nationwide, and more than 1.9 million employees.
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