Natural Gas in NH

There are 2.3 million natural gas customers in New England; 2.1 million residential customers and about 236,000 commercial and industrial customers. The 2005 Energy Information Administration’s Annual Energy Outlook forecasts a growth rate in New England natural gas usage of 1.4% annually through 2025. The fastest growing gas consumption sector, nationally and regionally, is gas for electric generation. Gas-fired electric generation in New England accounted for less than 1% of its electric supply in 1980; however, today it accounts for over 41% and is expected to increase to 49% by 2010. Two new gas fired power generation facilities have been built in New Hampshire and are major users of natural gas in the state.

Growing demand, particularly in the power generation sector, has spawned new growth in regional gas pipeline infrastructure. In the last decade, New England has added three new pipeline systems, delivering gas from multiple supply points. These pipelines deliver gas from supply basins in the Gulf Coast , western Canada , and Eastern Canada (Sable Island Offshore) regions. In addition, New England is the site of one of only four currently operating import terminals for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The terminal is located in Massachusetts and imports gas from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean . There are over a dozen new LNG facilities proposed for the Northeast U.S. and Canada , and while not all of those projects will be developed, the proposals reflect the markets’ response to customer demand and indicate potential opportunities for the region.