Nutmeggers understand the value in efficiency, and that’s why Connecticut depends on natural gas. As a clean, affordable source of energy, natural gas is relied on by one-third of households within the state as their primary fuel for home heating.
Natural gas also gives back, benefitting consumers by contributing over $4 billion to the state economy in 2015, and supporting the employment of 33,000 residents. From home heating to the services and industries that support it, natural gas is making a big difference for Connecticut.
Natural gas drives Connecticut forward.
Natural gas serves well over half a million customers each year in the Constitution State, helping them heat their homes, cook and go about the business of their daily lives. Tens of thousands of commercial and industrial consumers equally depend on natural gas to support their businesses. From financial institutions to dairy farms, college professors to defense manufacturers and homemakers, natural gas works for Connecticut.
Natural gas is a growing industry in Connecticut.
In 2015, the natural gas industry, from production to end-use, resulted in an economic value-add of more than $4 billion. Over 33,000 workers are employed across all segments of the natural gas industry, the income from this labor reaching nearly $2 billion.
Needless to say, natural gas is a booming industry. As its exports, purchasing power, and labor pool increases, Connecticut is securing space to capitalize on the many opportunities natural gas offers in the region. Building infrastructure to connect Connecticut with abundant gas resources in nearby Pennsylvania and the Marcellus Shale will inevitably help to decrease costs and safeguard against shortages.
Natural gas helps protect Connecticut’s environment.
Natural gas can dramatically reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere. For example, when used to generate electricity, natural gas produces half the CO2 emissions of coal. As the use of natural gas by electricity-generating plants has increased, power sector CO2 emission levels are at their lowest levels in nearly 30 years. Many new gas plants, too, are “combined cycle,” meaning they capture excess heat from generation and reuse that to generate more electricity.
In fact, natural gas can have such a profound impact on emissions that the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that switching to natural gas accounted for almost two-thirds of the CO2 emission reductions from 2006 to 2014. And the environmental benefits associated with natural gas go well beyond CO2 reductions. Greater use of natural gas in power generation will also reduce NOx, SO2, PM, acid gasses, Hg and non-Hg heavy metal emissions. Natural gas makes the air Connecticut breathes significantly cleaner and helps protect future generations of Nutmegger families.