US regulator approves Mountain Valley Southgate pipeline construction in North Carolina

RGC Resources

24/06/2026 18:43

    June 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved Mountain Valley Pipeline's request to begin construction of the North Carolina portion of its Southgate Amendment Project, according to a letter from FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
The approval follows a recent federal appeals court decision denying requests by environmental and other groups to stay water quality certifications issued by Virginia and North Carolina for the proposed project.
The Southgate project is a planned 31-mile pipeline extension from Virginia into North Carolina, designed to move about 0.55 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.
MVP's main line entered service in June 2024 after years of construction delays and legal challenges.
FERC previously authorized construction in Virginia in March 2026. 
The U.S. Department of Energy has said Southgate could enter service in 2028 at an estimated cost of $524 million.
MVP is owned by units of energy firms EQT EQT.N, NextEra Energy NEE.N, AltaGas ALA.TO and RGC Resources RGCO.O. EQT operates the pipeline and owns a significant interest in the MVP joint venture, according to the company website.

 (Reporting by Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru. Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((Pranav.Mathur@thomsonreuters.com;))