Lebanon
Liberty Utilities filed its petition for a natural gas franchise late last month, after failing to gain approval for an earlier proposal.
If the new project is approved by the state Public Utilities Commission, the company hopes to begin construction as early as next year.
“Liberty is interested in serving the Lebanon/Hanover area because of the vibrant economy and growing residential and business community,” spokesman John Shore said in an email on Friday.
The utility plans to truck liquid and compressed natural gas to a facility along Route 12A, where it could then be distributed through an 11.5-mile pipeline ending in downtown Hanover. Businesses that could benefit include Dartmouth College, Kleen Laundry, Pike industries, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hypertherm, Timken, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and several shopping centers, according to testimony submitted by Liberty.
However, it’s not known how many of those establishments have signed on. Information concerning discussions between the companies and Liberty were redacted from publicly available documents.
Some have argued the expansion of natural gas to the area would contribute to fossil fuel consumption rather than cut it.
Dartmouth College, once considered a possible anchor for natural gas expansion, is one of those entities moving away from fossil fuels for heating. The college established a Sustainability Task Force earlier this year to explore alternative energy options and hopes to “leapfrog over natural gas,” said Andrew Friedland, co-chairman of the group, in August.
Liberty will have to make the case its venture can be financially viable, a task it didn’t accomplish by October, when a similar proposal was labeled as “premature” and rejected by the PUC. At the time, utility officials said they were preparing a new business plan and asked the state to hold off on making a decision until it came out.
Liberty now argues there are 9,225 potential customers its facility could serve with an annual consumption of 3.4 billion cubic feet. The company says 1.3 billion to 1.6 billion cubic feet is more achievable, however, and says it’s in talks with “three large anchor customers” that would provide much of that business.
“Liberty Utilities will be purchasing fuel for its entire system, which should result in reduced pricing through economies of scale,” said William Clark, the company’s director of businesses development, in testimony to the PUC.
“The fuel pricing paid will directly pass-through, without mark-up to the consumer as is the case currently,” he said.
Natural gas prices are also much cheaper than other fuel sources, according to the state Office of Energy and Planning. As of Dec. 6, natural gas cost between $9.88 to $10.49 to produce 1 million BTU.
A chord of wood is $14.75 and #2 fuel oil costs $16.41 to do the same.
A lack of competition might also help Liberty before the PUC. It’s last proposal dueled with Valley Green Natural Gas, which obtained zoning to build a natural gas facility on Route 120.
But Jay Campion, Valley Green’s owner, reached a deal with Liberty last fall and withdrew the company’s petition. As a result, Liberty has an option to use the Route 120 site.
“The site located by the (Lebanon) landfill remains our primary focus,” Shore, the spokesman, said in an email. “In our refiled petition all of the economic analysis is based on the assumption that we will build the distribution system out from that site.”
The PUC hasn’t placed an order of notice on it’s website, and it’s unclear how quickly the body will review the proposal. It’s likely hearings will be set to discuss its financial viability, though.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.