WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — The top man with TC Energy is pleased with the company’s operations in West Virginia.
“Gosh, Charleston is a beautiful, beautiful city. We’re very proud we’ve invested in a new office tower opening very soon. Charleston will continue to be our regional hub for Appalachia and we’ve got big growth plans in this state,” said Francois Porier, President of TC Energy.
The Canadian based firm has made a substantial investment in West Virginia since taking over the old Columbia Gas Transmission company. Porier explained on MetroNews Talkline, originating live from the State Chamber of Commerce’s Business Summit at the Greenbrier in the last decade, TC Energy invested $7.5 Billion in West Virginia developing almost 3,000 miles of pipeline in West Virginia. The company has developed 38 compressor stations and 1500 meter stations and Porier indicated that’s just the beginning.
“We’ve got big growth plans,” he explained. “We just announced a new project to transport 800 Million cubic feet of natural gas into the Virginia market that will run right through West Virginia. We’re going to be spending several hundreds of millions of dollars in the next few years to establish that project and there’s more to come beyond that.”
Porier said each piece of infrastructure they build in West Virginia hardens the company’s position in the state and strengthens the domestic gas market in West Virginia and the entire nation.
“The more we develop, the more we insulate Americans from global shock and we help Americans have affordable, reliable energy,” he said.
Porier also talked about winning the A-I race for America. As more and more data centers come on line, power to fuel them is a critical question. Porier and his company want natural gas to be in the mix as an option to help power the operations. But it would have to start with regulatory reform. According to Porier the average pipeline project permits take 18 to 24 months to procure before the first dirt is moved. Construction on the line will take roughly a year once the permits are in place. He said just a few years ago, the permit time was half that and the nation is in sore need of permitting reform to speed the process. Porier credited U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito with helping shepherd the reform legislation through her leadership on the Environmental Committee. He was optimistic the reform would happen by year’s end.
Porier said developers of data centers need to do a better job of listening to their neighbors. He said the concerns people have about data centers when they are first proposed like cost of electricity, use of water, and noise are all very legitimate concerns. He suggested the developers need to do what the pipeline companies have learned to do and work with the communities.
“Build relationships and help people understand all the good that can come from technology advancement and all of the benefits that come to a state in terms of jobs and municipal tax revenues to help fund schools, hospitals, and growth,” Porier explained.
TC Energy employs more than 700 people in West Virginia and Porier added they have plans to grow those numbers.
“We love the people and we have a lot of ambition to grow our presence here. We’re very proud to be here,” he added.