Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Friday that politics in New York — and not a lack of interest — are temporarily holding back the Constitution pipeline project that would bolster natural gas supplies in the Northeast.
Wright told reporters he has “zero concern” about customers buying gas from the Constitution project, which Williams Cos. revived in December with a petition to federal regulators. The Energy secretary’s comments put a spotlight on a past dustup between President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat.
“If a pipeline has been blocked, you know, by the governor of New York, and she says she’s going to continue to block the pipeline, people wait for that politics to come out,” Wright said. “We would have customers coming out of the woodwork.”
Wright, who spoke Friday at a news conference about electricity issues, said he believes “we will win that political battle” when it comes to the Constitution project. Public outreach will be needed, he said.
