OREANDA-NEWS. Williams Partners L.P. today announced that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved an application for Transco’s fully contracted Dalton Expansion Project to provide additional reliable natural gas service to utility companies and a municipal entity in northwest Georgia.

The Dalton Expansion Project is designed to deliver natural gas to an existing electric generating facility in northern Georgia operated by Oglethorpe Power Corp., local distribution company Atlanta Gas Light, as well as the City of Cartersville.

“The Dalton Expansion Project is one of several Transco projects creating much-needed access to northern natural gas supplies to meet growing demand in the South, particularly in the power-generation sector,” said Rory Miller senior vice president of Williams Partners’ Atlantic-Gulf operating area. “Along with Leidy Southeast and Virginia Southside, the Dalton Expansion will be our third project providing southern market area customers access to growing Marcellus and Utica supplies with our Atlantic Sunrise project coming next. In addition to the environmental benefits of connecting electric power generators with this cleaner energy resource, these natural gas pipeline investments produce stable, long-term returns for our business.”

The proposed project consists of 115 miles of new steel pipe ranging from 16 to 30 inches in diameter extending from the existing Transco pipeline in Coweta County, Ga., to new delivery points in Paulding and Murray Counties, Ga. The pipeline is being designed to transport approximately 448,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day (enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of about 2 million homes).

In addition, as part of the project, Williams is proposing to construct a new compressor facility in Carroll County, Ga., as well as three new metering facilities and other related pipe and valve modifications to existing facilities.

Construction on the Dalton Expansion Project is planned to begin in the third quarter of 2016 with completion targeted for 2017. The project is part of Williams Partners’ 2016 growth capital funding plan that includes $1.3 billion for Transco expansions and other interstate pipeline growth projects.

Transco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Williams Partners, is the nation's largest and fastest-growing interstate natural gas transmission pipeline system. It delivers natural gas to customers through its 10,200-mile pipeline network whose mainline extends nearly 1,800 miles between South Texas and New York City. The system is a major provider of cost-effective natural gas services that reach U.S. markets in 12 Southeast and Atlantic Seaboard states, including major metropolitan areas in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.