The Millennium Pipeline will connect the Empire Connector Pipeline in the west to Algonquin Pipeline in the east. "It is the biggest piece of new construction in the NE 07 Project," according to Millennium Pipeline spokesman Michael Armiak. "Millennium connects new supply to new demand by adding west to east infrastructure."

The NE 07 Project will link the energy-hungry markets of metropolitan New York City, New Jersey, and New England to the Dawn natural gas supply hub in southwestern Ontario. The Dawn storage facility is Canada's largest underground natural gas storage facility. Subsidiaries of Ni Source, National Grid, and DTE Energy own Millennium Pipeline, which is slated to go in service in November 2008.

The approximately $650 million, 182-mile pipeline will connect with the Empire Connector (a 77-mile expansion of the Empire State Pipeline) at Corning, N.Y., local production, and storage locations in Western New York. Its mainline will cross New York's Southern Tier and lower Hudson River Valley regions and terminate at Ramapo in Rockland County, N.Y. At Ramapo, Millennium will connect to Spectra Energy's Algonquin Gas Transmission pipeline, which serves New England.

Millennium is the centerpiece of the larger "NE 07 Project," which will diversity and increase natural gas supplies to the northeastern U.S. In addition to the Millennium project, NE 07 will add new facilities for Algonquin, Empire State Pipeline, and Iroquois Gas Transmission.

Millennium Pipeline will largely parallel the route of Columbia Gas Transmission's A-5 line in the New York counties of Steuben, Chemung, Tioga, Broome, Delaware, Sullivan, Orange, and Rockland. Its 15,000-horsepower compressor station at Corning will have the capability to transport up to 525,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas. It will connect the Empire Connector Pipeline in the west to Algonquin Pipeline in the east.

Contractors performing construction of Millennium Pipeline include U.S. Pipeline, Inc. (USPL) and Precision Pipeline, LLC. Midwest Underground Technology is installing horizontal directional drill crossings below selected rivers, streams, and roadways. ConEd, KeySpan Energy, Central Hudson Gas and Electric, and Columbia Gas Transmission have signed long-term firm transportation agreements with Millennium. Columbia will subsequently service its existing customers: Orange and Rockland Utilities, Central Hudson, NYSEG, and Corning Natural.