Thomas Betts: Atlantic Coast Pipeline vital to Eastern N.C.

Rocky Mount Telegram
By Thomas Betts - Special to the Telegram

As we consider the vital importance of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to Eastern North Carolina’s economic future, let’s take a minute to imagine the region without the pipeline.

First, economic growth in the state will continue to leave Eastern North Carolina behind.

Without the the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Eastern North Carolina will have a hard time catching up with the traditionally more prosperous areas in our state, like Charlotte and Raleigh, that have benefited from closer proximity to the Transcontinental Pipeline.

A new source of natural gas will enable major manufacturing to locate in Eastern North Carolina – something that is cost-prohibitive when having to transport gas across the state from a supply west of Charlotte that is nearly fully tapped with existing customers.

Second, the cost of energy to customers will increase and savings associated with the pipeline will not be realized.

Without the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, North Carolina utilities will be forced to seek increased capacity on the Transcontinental Pipeline. This would be expensive new capacity for customers, which would not be able to realize the more than $100 million in annual average energy cost savings that is projected with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

And third, without the new natural gas supply provided by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, it will be difficult to meet the energy demands of our state’s growing population and economy.

North Carolina has one of the fastest growing populations and economies in the nation. Given this growth, the demand for natural gas to generate power in our state is supplied by only one natural gas line. The existing pipeline infrastructure is nearly fully tapped and unable to meet future needs.Therefore, the pipeline is vital to support our growing state and economy, specifically to meet the load growth and serve new major industrial customers in Eastern North Carolina.

The bottom line is, North Carolina’s future depends on the approval of this project. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is critical for meeting our growing energy needs and will help create thousands of jobs while delivering cleaner, more affordable energy for North Carolina families and businesses.

There is no doubt that North Carolina needs additional pipeline capacity. The question is, do we want to add that capacity in the western part of the state and prioritize the growth in already prospering metro areas? Or do we want to support the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and decrease our energy costs, benefit from increased tax revenues to help our communities and attract new businesses and higher-paying jobs to grow Eastern North Carolina?

Our families and neighbors deserve an even playing field to help them succeed and thrive right here in our own hometowns.