OREANDA-NEWS. Natural gas producers and pipelines in the Appalachian region are looking to gas-fired power generation to soak up supply as long-haul pipelines stall.

With production in the Marcellus and Utica shales averaging more than 21 Bcf/d (595mn m?/d), the suspension of Kinder Morgan's 1.3 Bcf/d Northeast Energy Direct (NED) pipeline and the regulatory delays of the 628mn cf/d Constitution pipeline have dealt a heavy blow to natural gas producers in Appalachia.

But there may be a local market for some of that gas. Earlier this month independent producer Cabot Oil & Gas said it will be the exclusive new provider of natural gas to a new 1,480MW gas-fired power plant in Pennsylvania. And yesterday Kinder Morgan said that in the wake of NED's suspension, the midstream company is looking to build power plant laterals from its Tennessee Gas pipeline (TGP).

"The need for gas in the northeast is real and present, and we still think that there are capacity needs there so we will continue to talk to customers and work to find something," Kinder Morgan chief executive Steve Kean said. In the meantime the company is expanding TGP as "demand in the power generation sector continues to grow."

Large, new natural gas-fired plants may provide a reprieve for Marcellus producers facing pipeline delays, energy consultancy BTU Analytics said. Construction is underway on an 18 gas-fired power plants in the region that will have a combined capacity of 9,680MW.

If pipeline expansions continue to face headwinds, "supplying local power plants may be the best way for northeast Pennsylvania to grow production in the interim," the consultancy said.