Boston-Area Gas Explosions

Implications for Infrastructure in the Northeast

A series of gas explosions and fires rocked three towns north of Boston, MA in mid-September, destroying dozens of homes and causing one fatality. In a region already paranoid at the thought of natural gas pipelines flowing under their feet, such a tragic and salient event can only increase the distaste for additional projects in the Northeast. The opposition of New Englanders to natural gas infrastructure is deep-seated, visceral, and seemingly irrational to those who live in energy friendly states, but a horrible event like this justifies the position of those opposed to further development. The explosion is known to have been caused by a buildup of extreme pressure on the local distribution system, and the reputational risk to Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and their parent company NiSource is very real. However, the risk to the industry as a whole is also problematic, even though large long-haul pipelines that face extreme opposition in the Northeast bare little resemblance to the often outdated and sometimes poorly maintained small pipes that carry gas on local systems. Pipelines are perceived as the menace from below, quietly unseen until a terrible, attention-grabbing accident occurs. It would be encouraging to see natural gas companies and local LDC’s take a proactive role in defining new safety measures and technologies to prevent pipeline failures before they happen, eventually helping shift the popular perception of these systems in places like New England.