ALBANY (TNS) — New York’s utility regulator has authorized a plan from National Grid to supply natural gas from Pennsylvania to New York City that relies on the construction of a controversial pipeline yet to be approved by the state.

The decision was a blow to environmental advocates, who’ve urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to block the pipeline, called the Northeast Supply Expansion project.

All but one of the members of the Public Service Commission voted to approve the plan from National Grid, echoing concerns from the company over the city’s current supply of natural gas and its reliability. Three years ago, during a cold winter snap, power generators in the New York City area switched off their gas and used oil reserves to deal with the surge in heating requirements so that natural gas could continue flowing across Upstate.

Power industry experts over the past two years have said at the time the 2019 Climate Act was passed in New York, there was also no analysis done on what was achievable and at what cost, and no real plan for pulling away from a power grid that’s more than 70 years old. While renewable energy sources power much of Upstate, more than 85% of electricity being supplied to New York City and Long Island is from gas and oil.

“We need to recognize when the resources we have are not fit for the task and the challenges at hand,” Rory Christian, the commission’s chair, said Thursday.

Opponents of the pipeline have argued that the commission’s endorsement of the project as a solution to the city’s energy needs could weigh heavily on the agency’s deliberations.

“Today’s flawed decision by the PSC clears the path for the harmful and costly NESE Pipeline,” said Katherine Nadeau, deputy executive director of Environmental Advocates NY. “With every new pipeline approved, New York is further locked into a fossil-fuel future that we cannot afford.”

It’s not the first time the state has considered the project. It’s been rejected more than once but was revived this year after Hochul met with President Donald J. Trump to discuss New York’s energy policies.

Hochul has repeatedly said she did not promise the pipeline to Trump but her opponents have framed its potential approval as evidence of his influence.

“This is not how you stand up for New York ratepayers, let alone our children and grandchildren who will be saddled with the true cost of this folly,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat from Manhattan who opposes the project.

The pipeline would run under New York Harbor and connect to natural gas infrastructure that’s already in place off the coast of Queens. National Grid has claimed it would increase the natural gas reliability downstate by about 13%.

“The increased gas supply from the (pipeline) will bolster reliability for essential energy needs in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, while freeing existing gas supplies to better serve our customers on Staten Island and in Suffolk County,” said Sally Librera, president of National Grid New York.

That promise is what won the commission’s approval. Its members are bound by state law to base its decision on what would safeguard energy reliability for ratepayers in New York.

Christian pushed back on the pipeline’s opponents with that point before the plan’s approval.

“The outcomes are not dictated by those with the loudest voices,” Christian said. “But rather by information in the record and alignment with the commission’s mission.”

The commission is also bound by statute to regulate utilities in a way that ensures affordability. Krueger said its endorsement of the pipeline runs counter to that mandate because the cost of the project will ultimately be passed on to ratepayers.

“The PSC essentially said today that they believe building the pipeline would be a prudent investment, opening the door to National Grid being able to recoup the costs in their next rate case — the only question then will be how big the bill is for New Yorkers to pay,” Krueger said.

If the pipeline receives state approval, its expected to come online by the end of 2027.

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