Long Island Natural Gas via Canada

A little-noticed action by federal energy regulators will increase natural gas supplies for Long Island and parts of New York City by about 10 percent in the next 19 months -- helping to meet growing demand and, in the view of some, reducing the need for gas from the proposed Broadwater barge in the Long Island Sound.

The increased supply -- 200 million cubic feet a day phased in by November of next year -- will come from $118.4 million in improvements to the Iroquois Gas Transmission System pipeline that brings Canadian gas through upstate New York and Connecticut to a National Grid/KeySpan station in South Commack.

Improvement of the Iroquois pipeline is one of several measures that Broadwater opponents, including local environmentalists and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, favor as alternatives to the Broadwater liquefied natural gas processing plant proposed for a site midway to Connecticut.

National Grid KeySpan senior vice president for energy portfolio management Richard Rapp said the added gas increases the supply at South Commack by a third to 40 percent and adds about 10 percent to the total supply available for National Grid's downstate area, which includes Long Island, most of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island. "It's entirely for KeySpan's needs, for our firm customers -- commercial and residential," he said. Customers are guaranteed an uninterrupted supply; some commercial customers can be temporarily asked to switch to other fuels if gas supplies are tight.