For Immediate Release
Phone: 609-561-9000
Investor Relations Contact: Stephen Clark x4260, sclark@sjindustries.com
Media Contact: Joanne Brigandi x4240, jbrigandi@sjindustries.com
April 29, 2013
SJG Receives NJBPU Approval of Gas Transportation Agreement with RC Cape May Holdings, LLC
Enables the Natural Gas Conversion of the BL England Electric Generation Plant to Proceed
Folsom, NJ - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today approved an agreement for South Jersey Gas, subsidiary of South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI), to deliver natural gas to the BL England electric generation facility in Beesley's Point, 15 miles southwest of Atlantic City. With this approval the plant's owner, RC Cape May Holdings, LLC can now proceed with repowering the facility with clean burning, efficient natural gas. The plant is currently powered with coal and oil.
"The BL England plant is an important part of the electric infrastructure in southern New Jersey," stated Jeffrey E. DuBois, president of South Jersey Gas. "The repowering of this station with natural gas assures the continued availability of this important asset and advances several goals of New Jersey's Energy Master Plan, including the promotion of new, clean, in-state electric generation, for power production and protecting our environment" added DuBois. New Jersey's policy is to discourage the construction of new coal-fired power plants as well as to accelerate the decommissioning of existing coal-fired plants in the state.
To provide service to this facility, SJG plans to invest approximately $90 million to construct a new, 24 inch natural gas transmission pipeline, which will also provide system reliability and reinforcement enhancements for customers served in Atlantic and Cape May counties.
Once online, the annual throughput of gas to the BL England facility will be about 20 million dekatherms, essentially equal to the amount of gas SJG currently provides to approximately 267,000 homes in a year. The plant is expected to begin operating in 2016.
Forward-Looking Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release should be considered forward-looking statements made in good faith by the Company and are intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "estimate", "forecast", "goal", "intend", "objective", "plan", "project", "seek", "strategy" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: general economic conditions on an international, national, state and local level; weather conditions in our marketing areas; changes in commodity costs; the timing of new projects coming online; changes in the availability of natural gas; "non-routine" or "extraordinary" disruptions in our distribution system; regulatory, legislative and court decisions; competition; the availability and cost of capital; costs and effects of legal proceedings and environmental liabilities; the failure of customers, suppliers or business partners to fulfill their contractual obligations; and changes in business strategies. SJI assumes no duty to update these statements should actual events differ from expectations.
About South Jersey Industries
South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI), a member of the MSCI Global Climate Index, offers solutions to climate change and helps customers control energy costs. South Jersey Gas, one of the nation's fastest growing natural gas utilities, delivers clean, efficient natural gas and promotes energy efficiency to customers in southern New Jersey. SJI's non-regulated businesses, under South Jersey Energy Solutions, promote efficiency, clean technology and renewable energy by developing and operating on-site energy production facilities; acquiring and marketing natural gas and electricity for retail customers; providing wholesale commodity marketing and risk management services; and offering HVAC and other energy-efficiency related services. For more information about SJI and its subsidiaries, visit http://www.sjindustries.com.
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