New Haven utility parent UIL Holdings has purchased a 2.5 percent interest in the 188-mile Kinder Morgan natural gas pipeline, which will bring the fuel from New York State through Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
The value of UIL’s interest in the Northeast Expansion project is $80 million.
The project is expected to begin commercial operation in 2018 and will relieve some of the supply constraints New England has for natural gas, which is used to fuel power plants and heat homes and businesses.
UIL’s western Massachusetts subsidiary Berkshire Gas this year had to impose a moratorium on new natural gas customers because of the constraints in natural gas supply.
The new pipeline will be part of Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline system. Kinder Morgan, the fourth largest energy company in North America, is headquartered in Houston.
