Williams Partners said Monday it initiated a binding open season yesterday through June 9, for expansion of the Transco interstate pipeline, a project known as the Northeast Supply Enhancement.

The Northeast project is designed to provide 400 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of firm natural gas transportation capacity from Transco’s Compressor Station 195 in York County, Pennsylvania, to the existing interconnection known as Rockaway Transfer Point, located offshore New York City.

Williams is proposing to add roughly 35 miles of pipeline and new compression to Transco, including 22 miles of 26-inch pipe in New York Bay, 3.5 miles of 26-inch pipe in Middlesex County, New Jersey, and 10 miles of 42-inch pipeline in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Prior to the open season, Williams executed agreements with subsidiaries of National Grid, the largest distributor of natural gas in the Northeast, for firm transportation service under the project, Kallanish Energy reports.

Once complete, the project will help meet the growing natural gas demand in the Northeast, including the 1.8 million customers served by National Grid in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.

“Williams’ Northeast Supply Enhancement project expands on our commitment to further improve reliability, make available much-needed gas capacity to support job growth, and help reduce our carbon footprint,” said Ken Daly, president of National Grid New York.

Transco plans to place the project into service for the 2019-2020 winter heating season.