Full Title: FERC Plays Politics with Pipelines
Author(s): Kenny Stein
Publisher(s): Institute for Energy Research (IER)
Publication Date: March 2, 2022
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
On February 17th, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued two new draft policy statements that will have significant detrimental effects on the construction of natural gas pipelines in the United States. The statements open new avenues for even more dilatory and frivolous opposition to development from anti-pipeline extremists, as well as creating new opportunities for litigation to slow or stop pipeline construction. The timing of the announcement could hardly have been worse, coming just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has completely altered the global geopolitical landscape. With Western Europe so heavily dependent on Russia for its natural gas, it has been left with no choice but to continue to allow imports from the rogue nation even as it wages war with Ukraine. The U.S., with an abundance of natural gas, is a logical alternative provided we are able to build more pipelines to move the gas to market.
Recent years have already seen pipeline construction grow increasingly expensive and difficult, as political activists have taken a “death by a thousand cuts” approach to stopping pipelines, seeking delays and creating roadblocks at any opportunity. Given this context, FERC’s decision to create even more opportunities for this sort of delay is inexplicable. FERC’s statutory mandate is to ensure reliable gas supplies at a reasonable cost to consumers, but these draft policy statements provide support to organizations and activists who are directly opposed to those goals.