Data for: Economies of scale and scope in expansion of the U.S. natural gas pipeline network

Abstract of associated article: I analyze cost, capacity, mileage, and technical data for 254 U.S. natural gas pipeline projects over the period 1997–2012. Although project costs exhibit economies of scale over the capacity margin and economies of scope over the spatial margin, network expansion costs may not exhibit cost economies overall. That is, proportional increases in both transmission capacity and length (in miles) may result in a proportional (or even greater-than-proportional) increase in expansion costs. Moreover, large projects (high-capacity pipelines spanning long distances) likely require installation of compression horsepower, which has direct cost effects. My results suggest such projects exhibit significant diseconomies in cost structure. As a result, pipeline tariffs based on cost-of-service pricing likely present a disincentive for prospective pipeline customers to commit to long-term contracts—which are necessary for the pipeline to acquire regulatory permission to build—particularly for large, long-distance expansion projects. The implication is that cost-of-service pricing may inhibit network expansion, exacerbating congestion issues.

相关研究论文摘要：本文对1997年至2012年间的254项美国天然气管道项目的成本、产能、里程及技术数据展开系统性分析。尽管项目成本在产能维度上呈现规模经济（economies of scale）效应，在空间维度上呈现范围经济（economies of scope）效应，但管网扩建成本的整体成本经济性却未必成立。换言之，若输气产能与管道长度（以英里计）按比例同步提升，扩建成本可能会出现同比例（甚至超比例）的增长。此外，大型项目（即长距离高产能管道）通常需要加装压缩机组功率装置，这将对成本产生直接影响。研究结果表明，此类项目的成本结构存在显著的规模不经济（diseconomies）现象。因此，基于服务成本定价（cost-of-service pricing）法制定的管道运价，可能会抑制潜在管道用户签署长期合同的意愿——而这类合同是管道项目获取建设监管许可的必要前提，针对大型长距离扩建项目尤为如此。这意味着服务成本定价法可能会阻碍管网扩建，进而加剧管网拥堵问题。