MANSFIELD - UGI on Friday celebrated its first-ever direct "interconnect" to Marcellus Shale gas wells, enabling the delivery of Pennsylvania natural gas to UGI customers directly from the wells. The occasion was marked with a dedication ceremony at the well site near this northern tier Pennsylvania community, followed by a celebratory holiday meal, cooked with natural gas, for local residents and leaders in a nearby fire hall.
"This is a great day for our customers, a great day for Pennsylvania's economic growth, and a great day for UGI," Vicki Ebner, UGI Utilities' senior vice president for customer and government relations, was quoted in a press release.
"For the first time in history, Pennsylvania's natural gas is flowing directly from the well to UGI customers," Ebner said, adding, "This direct interconnection from energy source to consumer is the type of infrastructure necessary for Marcellus Shale to reach its full potential."
The occasion marked the start of the flow of natural gas from shale formations deep beneath Pennsylvania's northern tier, through wells and a processing station owned by Shell Upstream America and Ultra Petroleum, and into a UGI Central Penn Gas supply pipeline which feed some 15,000 customers in Tioga, Bradford and Potter counties.
At the end of November, UGI announced rate decreases of 4.5 percent to 13 percent throughout the 35 counties - including Northumberland - included in the service areas of UGI's natural gas companies. Ebner said today that the good news for customers will continue to unfold in the months and years ahead.