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New Jersey's Reliance on Natural Gas to Grow, Experts Agree

01.01.70

That was the consensus of a panel of experts who convened Friday at Rider University for a NJ Spotlight Roundtable on natural gas to debate the pros and cons of promoting greater reliance on the fossil fuel -- a stance embraced by the recently adopted Energy Master Plan.

From expanding the state's network of interstate gas pipelines, to encouraging fleet owners to switch their vehicles from diesel to compressed natural gas, to generating electricity more efficiently and with less pollution, the plan envisions gas replacing more carbon-polluting alternatives.

With natural prices now hovering around $3 per dekatherm and not likely to rise above $6 in the near future, the state has no choice but to promote greater use of natural gas, according to most of the panelists speaking at the lunchtime event.

"The reality is that it's a game changer for this country," said Ed Graham, president and chief executive officer of South Jersey Industries, owner of South Jersey Gas, one of four regulated gas utilities in New Jersey. With the discovery of huge deposits of natural gas in the Marcellus Shale regions of Pennsylvania, New York, and elsewhere, it is likely the nation has enough natural gas to handle demand for about 100 years, Graham said.

Source: NJ Spotlight