AT ISSUE: The National Grid plant in Greenpoint, where the utility wants to construct two additional natural-gas vaporizers. (Ebony Prescod)

BROOKLYN — Nearly 1,500 callers phoned Gov. Kathy Hochul to urge her to stop a National Grid natural-gas project from moving forward in Greenpoint.

NoBKPipeline, an environmental nonprofit, offered a toll-free number for voicing opposition to the $65-million plan to build two new gas vaporizers, which transform liquified natural gas into the form that is piped to homes for heating and cooking.

Earlier this year, National Grid submitted plans to hike rates in order to build the new vaporizers at its Greenpoint facility. The utility did not disclose how much monthly bills would increase.

“National Grid should be coming to the community with a plan to retire its aging LNG (liquefied natural gas) facility, not extend its life at the cost of tens of millions of ratepayer dollars,” said NoBKPipeline,

 

Activists say building the vaporizers is not in line with the state’s 2019 Climate Act, which commits New York to cut  greenhouse emissions by 85% by 2050.

The barrage of calls to Hochul is the latest move by opponents to the utility’s continuing investment in fossil fuels. At a town hall meeting in September, State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher (D-Brooklyn) said, “Investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure in 2022 is climate denial.”

A National Grid spokesperson defended the vaporizer project, saying it “will help avoid service restriction and ensure access to essential energy service for Brooklyn customers over the next several years.”

The state Department of Environmental Conservation will decide if the vaporizer project is approved. The state Public Service Commission negotiates any rate increases that would result.