Dive Brief:

• New York's investor-owned utility Consolidated Edison (ConEd) has created a new subsidiary that aims to invest in electric and gas transmission projects that the utility hopes will reach a wide range of customers with a diverse supply of energy products, Smart Grid News reports. 
• Joseph P. Oates, senior vice president of Corporate Shared Services at ConEd, will become president of new subsidiary, Con Edison Transmission Inc. (CET).
• CET will also operate Con Edison Gas Midstream LLC, which will invest in gas pipeline and storage businesses. The company last week announced that CET had acquired a 12.5% stake in the Mountain Valley Pipeline, including 20-year fixed price agreements for the pipeline's entire capacity rights.

Dive Insight:

Consolidated Edison's new transmission subsidiary is going to invest in both electric and natural gas projects, but so far the news is all on the fuels side. The utility announced last week it had inked a deal with Mountain Valley Pipeline for all of the system's capacity and a 12.5% stake.

"We will be making investments in electric and gas transmission projects that will reach a wide range of customers, providing them with more diverse, low-cost energy supplies," said Oates.

The 300-mile long Mountain Valley system would run from West Virginia to southern Virginia, and carries an estimated total project cost of $3 billion to $3.5 billion. Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC filed plans for the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in October, and is hoping to have the pipeline in service in late 2018.

The pipeline is a joint venture between several companies, with the largest shares being EQT Midstream Partners LP, operator of the proposed pipeline with a 45.5% ownership interest. Affiliates of NextEra Energy hold the next highest ownership, at 31%. WGL Holdings, Vega Energy Partners and RGC Resources all hold smaller interests.

In a separate deal, ConEd also agreed to a 20-year firm transportation agreement for 250,000 dekatherms per day on the Equitrans system, located in northern West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. The arrangement would allow the utility more direct access to supply resources upstream of MVP, ConEd said.

"Con Edison is responsible for obtaining low-cost, reliable supply to meet its gas customers’ needs. The
MVP and Equitrans capacity agreements allow customers to achieve significant savings,” said Ivan
Kimball, Vice President of Energy Management, Con Edison.