Con Ed's natural gas moratorium puts developers in a bind

High-profile developers in Westchester are feeling some pressure as they may be forced to put a halt on construction after Con Edison announced a moratorium on natural gas.

News 12 Staff

Jan 24, 2019, 10:18 PM

Updated 1,912 days ago

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High-profile developers in Westchester are feeling some pressure as they may be forced to put a halt on construction after Con Edison announced a moratorium on natural gas.
Maquesten Development Executive Joe Apicella is left wondering why Con Edison did not communicate more efficiently about instituting a stoppage of new natural gas service in Westchester beginning March 15.
Apicella says this natural gas crisis goes beyond the development of high rise residential apartments in the county -- he's concerned about the building of office spaces, retail stores and affordable housing properties.
"To allow this to get to this point without any prior notice or discussion or partnership, just is not the right way to do it," says Apicella.
Apicella is now spearheading a task force along with the Business Council of Westchester to look into alternatives hoping Con Ed can come up with a solution. A Con Ed spokesperson says the problem is a lack of infrastructure for gas pipelines. They hope to steer customers to new sources of energy like electric heating or thermal heat pumps.


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