Williams breaks ground on NESE project, aims to expand natural gas supply to Northeast in 2027

Williams Cos. has broken ground on the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) natural gas project, officially starting construction of the long-delayed expansion of the company’s existing Transco pipeline system across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

NESE is expected to add 400,000 dekatherms/day of capacity to help meet energy demand in the Northeast US.

The groundbreaking ceremony, which took place at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, NY, comes more than 5 years after Williams, the project sponsor, shelved the project amid state and public opposition.

Last year, necessary permits for the project were secured from New York and New Jersey, and the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) reissued a certificate that allowed the build out to proceed. Now with federal and state construction permits in hand, NESE—which will run from Transco’s Compressor Station 195 in York County, Pa., to its offshore Rockaway Transfer Point on Long Island, an existing interconnection between the Lower New York Bay Lateral and the Rockaway Delivery Lateral in New York State waters—is on track to be in service by fourth-quarter 2027, the company said.

“NESE delivers reliable American energy to New York’s grid at a critical time. By adding new capacity to bring domestically produced natural gas to the grid, we’re providing dependable energy for countless homes and businesses at the time they need it most,” said Chad Zamarin, president and chief executive officer of Williams.