Trump, NY Governor to Discuss Reviving Constitution Gas Pipeline
NEW YORK, N.Y. (Reuters) — Donald Trump will meet New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday morning, the U.S. president said, for talks that may include potentially reviving the Constitution natural gas pipeline in the Northeast.
The pipeline would bring gas from Pennsylvania's drilling fields to New York, but Williams Cos. canceled the project in 2020 following opposition from politicians and environmentalists in New York.
Trump said a pipeline would lower the region's energy prices. But it remains uncertain how it could be approved.
"Kathy Hochul, very nice woman; she's coming in tomorrow morning at nine o'clock to meet me on that and other things," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, in an apparent reference to the project.
"I hope we don't have to use the extraordinary powers of the federal government to get it done. But if we have to, we will, but I don't think we'll have to."
Such pipelines are a top priority for Trump and the leaders of his Energy Dominance Council co-chaired by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Representatives for Williams did not respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this week, Hochul demanded Trump reverse U.S. tariffs on Canadian energy imports, arguing the tariffs and Canadian retaliatory actions threatened to drive up electricity and heating costs for New Yorkers.
"I reached out to the president yesterday and said I want to carry on the conversation that we had in the Oval Office a couple weeks ago," Hochul told reporters.
"I have a lot on my agenda. We talked about infrastructure, Penn Station. We talked about - he knows I want to talk about congestion pricing again. I want to talk about, you know, our concerns about energy in light of the tariffs."
Williams Open to Project—With Conditions
Williams Cos. said on March 14 it appreciated U.S. President Donald Trump's support for its canceled Constitution natural gas pipeline project through New York, and that it was interested in dusting off the project under the right circumstances.
"Williams appreciates President Trump's commitment to addressing the Northeast's natural gas supply constraints, which have led to some of the highest consumer energy prices in the country and the continued use of excessive amounts of higher-emitting fuel oil," Williams said in an email to Reuters.
"We are interested in building the Constitution pipeline, provided there is sufficient customer demand and support from Northeast governors, including Governor Hochul, to mitigate the risk of costly permitting delays, court battles, and injunctions during construction."
Williams said it was also hopeful for permitting reform in Congress to make it easier to advance projects.
Hochul's office said the discussion with Trump covered several subjects, including energy policy and tariffs.
"While no formal agreements or decisions were reached, it was a productive conversation and we look forward to continuing the dialogue in the coming weeks," spokesman Jerrel Harvey said.
The White House did not immediately comment.
The Constitution project would move up to 650 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to consumers in New York.
Trump's tariff dispute with Canada risks spilling over into higher power prices for New York consumers. The Canadian province of Ontario threatened earlier this week to impose a 25% surcharge on the electricity it sends into the state.
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