Healey Presses Feds to Speed Enbridge Algonquin RARE Pipeline Review
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey is pressing the Trump administration to speed federal review of Enbridge’s Algonquin RARE pipeline expansion, a Reuters report via BOE Report says. The project targets a 2028 in-service date.
Market Impact
Healey made the request Thursday for the Reliable Affordable Resilient Enhancement (RARE) project, an expansion of the Algonquin Gas Transmission system being developed by a unit of Canadian energy firm Enbridge. She said President Trump has previously supported the project. It is currently in federal environmental review at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), according to the governor.
Healey said the project is expected to supply gas to 600,000 customers and cut gas bills by $40 million a year. She also said the added supply should reduce reliance on higher-cost imported LNG from Constellation Energy’s Everett import terminal in Massachusetts. “I’ve been clear that we need to bring more energy supply into Massachusetts with an all-of-the-above approach that includes solar, wind, storage, nuclear, geothermal, hydro and gas,” she said.
Enbridge says on its website that RARE will add about 75 million cubic feet per day of capacity. Algonquin moves roughly 3.1 bcfd through 1,131 miles of pipe across New Jersey, New York and New England. In January, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities approved two 10-year agreements between Eversource units and Algonquin to deliver new gas supplies to customers. The report notes that several Northeast states have grown more accepting of fossil fuel projects as they try to rein in consumer energy bills.
What It Means for Subcontractors
- No bid stage exists yet. The source describes a project in FERC environmental review with no EPC award, no construction schedule and no subcontract packages. Pipeline, compressor and civil crews have nothing to price today.
- FERC is the gate that matters. Pull the RARE docket in FERC’s eLibrary (the source gives no docket number) and watch for the environmental review’s completion and any final authorization. Procurement is unlikely to start until that decision lands. That is an inference, not something the source states.
- Work backward from 2028. With Enbridge targeting a 2028 in-service date, construction contracting would have to follow the FERC decision. Pipeline construction, welding, NDE and restoration firms should be ready to prequalify with Enbridge’s supply-chain team once an EPC or construction contractor is named.
- Scope is unconfirmed. The source gives only the capacity figure of about 75 million cubic feet per day and says nothing about pipe footage, compressor work or meter stations. Don’t staff or bid for specific trades until Enbridge or FERC filings define the scope.
- State demand is already in place. The January DPU approval of two 10-year Eversource-Algonquin agreements covers the customer side. The remaining open item is the federal review, so FERC timing, not Massachusetts, now drives the schedule.
- Regional work. Algonquin runs through New Jersey, New York and New England. Regional contractors in those states should watch for any follow-on work on the existing system, though the source names none.
