Chesapeake Utilities Corporation, Dover, announced that its subsidiary, Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company plans to invest $80 million in the Worcester Resiliency Upgrade project, a planned liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility in Bishopville, MD.
Bishopsville is about two and a half miles from Selbyville on the southern edge of Delaware.
The proposed peaking storage facility will include five low-profile 100,000-gallon horizontal storage tanks on a 135-acre parcel adjacent to an existing industrial facility in Worcester County. The project also includes additional infrastructure in Sussex County and Wicomico County, MD, and upgrades to existing meter and regulator stations in Sussex County, Worcester County, MD, and Somerset County, MD. Eastern Shore will construct, own, and operate all proposed facilities. The project will enable Chesapeake to keep gas flowing to customers during peak use periods in the winter.
The $80 million capital investment results from the increased capacity requirements of three affiliated local distribution companies, each of which will enter into 30-year service agreements upon project completion.
The project includes upgrades to the existing Millsboro Pressure Control Station.
“Demand for natural gas continues to increase in our Delmarva service territories, where our customer additions are above national averages,” said Jeff Householder, CEO. “Strategic infrastructure investments like this one allow us to enhance service for our existing customers, meet growing demand, and support future growth opportunities in our expanding areas of operation. We believe we are well positioned to serve existing and future customers.”
Chesapeake’s territory in Sussex County and other areas of the Eastern Shore have seen rapid population growth, with its regulated utility adding both residential and commercial customers.
“Chesapeake Utilities Corporation continues to expand its operations to meet the growing demand for natural gas. While doing so, the company is committed to meeting and surpassing the expectations of its stakeholders, including investors,” said Beth Cooper, executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer. “This project supports our recent capital guidance increase, which builds on our long track record of identifying and executing on strategic growth initiatives that drive future earnings growth.”
Over the past several years, Chesapeake’s has launched projects to meet customer growth and energy demand in underserved regions on the Delmarva Peninsula, including infrastructure expansion on Maryland’s lower eastern shore and in southern Delaware. The projects have aided the availability of natural gas in Somerset County, MD one of three counties in Maryland previously without access to natural gas.
As a result, two large energy consumers were able to move from other heating sources to natural gas. Improving their environmental emissions profiles. Most recently, Eastern Shore completed its Southern Expansion project, which included the addition of another natural gas-fired compressor unit in Sussex County at its Bridgeville site.
The Worcester Resiliency Upgrade application was filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Docket No. CP23-536-000.
For more information, visit WorcesterResiliencyUpgrade.com.
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company owns and operates a 516-mile Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulated interstate transmission pipeline system that transports natural gas from four upstream pipeline interconnection points in Pennsylvania and Delaware to customers along the Delmarva Peninsula, including Chesapeake Utilities’ distribution systems. For more information, visit www.esng.com.
