Public Service Electric & Gas recently filed for a three-year, $2.54 billion extension of its Gas System Modernization Program with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.
The proposal would continue the utility’s work to update its existing infrastructure to improve reliability and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by replacing aged pipes with modern ones. In essence, better pipes mean less emissions.
The proposal also will sustain the thousands of jobs and skilled workforce created under previous GSMP efforts. GSMP One began in 2014; GSMP Two began in 2018. It also comes with the prospect of creating more jobs.
Here’s how it will work:
In keeping with its continued efforts to improve reliability and reduce methane emissions, the program’s replacement of old gas mains is estimated to reduce CO2e emissions by more than 145,000 metric tons.
The proposal also would introduce non-fossil alternatives, renewable natural gas and hydrogen, into PSE&G’s system — because the new pipes will be able to handle RNG and other new forms that older pipes could not.
GSMP Three also would support Gov. Phil Murphy’s recently announced executive orders to bolster climate adaptation and mitigation efforts, including accelerating the reduction of GHG emissions — especially in overburdened communities that are disproportionately impacted by climate change.
