Tom Shepstone
Natural Gas NOW   

There seems to be a New Jersey natural gas disconnect. No one benefits more from Pennsylvania natural gas but you wouldn’t know it by the special interest opposition.

The New Jersey hearings on the PennEast Pipeline have aptly demonstrated what our friend Jim Willis calls the “lunatic antics of anti-drillers.” His post covering last night’s hearing in Ewing, New Jersey provides a good overview of the theatrics, as does this PennLive article from which he quoted. What really captured us, though, was the total disconnect with reality exhibited by the New Jersey natural gas users who came out to oppose natural gas infrastructure made necessary by their usage.

Here’s how PennLive described the heart of the opposition Wednesday night to the PennEast (emphasis added):

Several people said that the project would threaten the future of land preservation programs.

“Who’s going to want to preserve their property if it’s going to make them a target for a pipeline in the future?” said Alix Bacon, a regional manager for New Jersey Conservation Foundation, pointing to a map that shows the path of the pipeline traversing through preserved lands.

Others called on the agency to co-locate the pipeline along existing rights of way and take into account the cumulative impact of the PennEast pipeline and other pipelines that have been proposed or recently completed.

Many questioned the necessity of the pipeline, advocating for the no-build alternative.

“There are enough environmental reasons to deny the pipeline,” said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “The pipeline would tear a massive ecological scar right through the heart of Central Jersey.”

Jeff Tittel, executive director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter, alluded to the region’s history.

“Back then, we were invaded by the British and Hessians. Now it’s the natural gas companies and pipelines,” he said. “They’re today’s Hessians trying to take our land. … This pipeline turns 50 years of public policy and change on its head.”

Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, said the pipeline serves only to profit the shale gas industry at the expense of the health and safety of residents.

“We will defend our rivers, we will defend our watersheds … with our voices, with our lawyers and with our bodies,” she screamed over the moderator who was telling her that she exceeded the time limit.

These protestors have something in common. All four organizations are directly or indirectly funded by the same entity: the William Penn Foundation, which we wrote about earlier today before reading Jim’s column. FERC didn’t hear from four organizations but, rather, one super-wealthy special interest ventriloquist using four different voices. The William Penn Foundation isn’t about the welfare of New Jersey households. Its about “strategic parkification” and the fervent desire of these aristocrats to prevent the riffraff from developing anymore of their favorite playgrounds, whether it be the New Jersey Highlands, the Upper Delaware or the Catskills.

They don’t want to be seen, of course, and use groups such as Environment New Jersey (part of Environment America) and the Delaware Riverkeeper to do the dirty work. They hold themselves out as benign do-gooders while making it a point to put intolerant loudmouths such as Maya van Rossum out front to intimidate, shout down others and, as Jim notes, discourage anyone of a different viewpoint from saying anything:

There were a few people in support of the pipeline who spoke – but in typical fashion, normal people who have a low tolerance for the lunatic antics of anti-drillers simply avoid these sessions. Which is a mistake. You need to hand it right back to people who are rigid in their flawed ideologies about pipelines and fracking.

If only more people on our side recognized the necessity of what Jim prescribes. “Handing it back” is precisely what needs to happen in these cases and there’s plenty to give. Consider, for example, the number of homes heated by natural gas. Here are the Census statistics for the State of New Jersey, Mercer County and Ewing Township:

Ewing Township and Mercer County, where the hearing took place, are archetypical New Jersey natural gas users. Half the homes are heated by the stuff and another third are heated with propane, which is, in many cases, a byproduct of natural gas processing, meaning 87%, on average, of the homes of those who came out to protest the PennEast were kept warm this week by a natural gas or related fuel.

New Jersey Home Heating Fuels, 2013

It’s more than a matter of usage, though; it’s also a matter of supply and volume, especially during periods such as this week, with a temperature of only 5 degrees Fahrenheit in Ewing at 5 AM yesterday morning. Demand for heat, in fact, has been rather strong lately and, given that somewhere between 50% and 87% of that heat comes from natural gas in New Jersey, the demand for it has also increased, well above supply and we know what that means:

Once again, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) provides some great insights (emphasis added):

Natural gas demand in the northeastern United States hit 43.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) on Monday, according to Bentek Energy. This is the highest level in Bentek’s 10-year history, and exceeded the previous high set during last year’s polar vortex by 1.2 Bcf in January 2014.

Low temperatures in the Northeast over the weekend and into the week also led to price spikes and pipeline constraints. Prices jumped at the Algonquin pricing point, which serves Boston-area consumers. On Friday, February 13, prices spiked to $23.51/MMBtu heading into the three-day weekend, reflecting expectations for high demand in an area that has already been hammered by several recent snowstorms. Prices at Algonquin eased slightly on Tuesday, but prices at Transco’s Zone 6 delivery point into New York City jumped to $37.04/MMBtu on Tuesday and then to $38.15/MMBtu on Wednesday, its highest level this winter, likely reflecting forecasts for more cold weather to come.

Bentek projects demand tomorrow could reach a record high, as forecasted low temperatures for many areas in the Northeast are in the single digits and teens…

Pipeline imports from Canada to the Northeast and LNG sendout also increased this week, as producers likely took advantage of the high regional prices in the Northeast. Imports into the Northeast were up 15% from the previous week, and up 41.4% from the same week last year. LNG sendout rose to 1.7 Bcf, with sendout coming from Cove Point in Maryland and Everett outside of Massachusetts, as well as Elba Island in Georgia.

The picture couldn’t get much clear than that; record low temps yielded pipelines full to capacity, higher prices and more imports from Canada as well LNG to those dreaded terminals, but, naturally, the same people opposing the PennEast also oppose the Port Ambrose LNG Terminal, with Environment New Jersey, the Delaware Riverkeeper and the Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter signing a letter against that as well.

One is tempted to think opposition to additional sources of lower-priced natural gas is merely a matter of ignorance or insanity on the part of PennEast enemies, but it’s neither. It’s something far worse than either – rigid ideology, the kind that causes Maya van Rossum to try to out-shriek her opponents and the William Penn Foundation to fund the shrieking.

That ideology is essentially neutral as to the interests of most New Jersey residents but it is adamantly opposed to the development of the New Jersey Highlands, the Upper Delaware and Catskill regions. The aristocratic class represented by the William Penn Foundation and its Rockefeller bosom bodies at the Open Space Institute are determined to stop that and natural gas development, which raises land values, is a huge threat to their very special interests.

Still, it’s damned hard to fight economics. One only need recall the naive attempts of the Nixon and Ford administrations in the 1960s and 1970s to stop inflation with price controls and “Whip Inflation Now” buttons to know that. Economics always wins in the end. New Jersey natural gas consumption by residences has been trending up steeply since 1967, according to the EIA, and the recent pipeline constraints and price bumps tell us the PennEast is very much needed and is going to happen, simply because it must. It’s economics and no amount of shrieking will change it.

Check out what else is new at NaturalGasNow today!

While you’re at it, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In!