Institute sees economic benefit to Kinder Morgan pipeline
Analyzing a controversial pipeline that would bring Pennsylvanian natural gas into New Hampshire and Massachusetts, the Beacon Hill Institute found it would bring substantial benefits in construction jobs and lower energy costs to Massachusetts.
The Northeast Energy Direct Project, which would be built by Kinder Morgan, would create 1,713 jobs, the institute found in a study released Wednesday.
If the pipeline was built to carry 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day it would "virtually eliminate" the region's winter natural gas shortage, said the report.
The lower energy prices associated with a pipeline of that size would lead to an estimated increase of 12,025 jobs by 2020, and Massachusetts households would see their disposable income increase by $770, according to the report.
If the pipeline was built to carry significantly less gas, 1.2 billion cubic feet per day, it would eliminate 70 percent of the gas shortage, create 9,420 jobs by 2020 and create another $610 per household in disposable income, the report said.
In actual energy costs, the larger pipeline would save families an estimated $204 annually, while businesses would save $1,238 and industrial businesses would save $25,415, according to the institute. The smaller pipeline would lead to estimated savings of $75 per year for families, $452 for businesses and $4,169 for industrial businesses.
As the Department of Public Utilities considers permitting a novel arrangement where utilities reserve space on as-of-yet unbuilt pipelines, Attorney General Maura Healey has counseled that the state should consider alternatives to building natural gas infrastructure. Environmentalists have also protested the idea of the Kinder Morgan pipeline because it would bring additional fossil fuels into the state and could disrupt areas that it passes through.
"Massachusetts needs to expand gas transmission capacity, particularly as New England converts most of its coal-fired electric plants to gas," said Beacon Hill Institute Director of Research Paul Bachman in a statement. "The inability to exploit the lower price of natural gas is to a detriment not only of industrial users of energy but also commercial and household users."
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