The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce recently hosted an event, “Building the Nation’s Next Energy Hub,” that called for the construction of a natural gas pipeline from the Marcellus Shale to the Philadelphia area, writes Dan McQuade of Philadelphia Magazine.

The region currently consumes three billion cubic feet of natural gas a day; the Greater Philadelphia Energy Action Team wants to double that by “growing the energy and manufacturing sectors and creating an east coast demand-center.”

The report indicated that falling gas prices are a reason to build the pipeline.

“With the current oversupply of gas in the reserves and insufficient infrastructure to get the gas to market, regional prices in the Marcellus and Utica regions remain severely depressed which in turn has resulted in gas producers significantly cutting back their production,” the GPEAT report said. “Linking the Pennsylvania shale resources more directly to the large energy consuming markets in the tristate region could significantly improve production and increase the revenue generated from gas production in Pennsylvania.”

There are also other pipelines prepared for the region. Sunoco Logistics is working on a massive liquid natural gas pipeline, Mariner East 2, that would bring liquefied natural gases into Marcus Hook.

“Since day one as governor, I have made investing in jobs that pay a top priority for my administration,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a statement. “In creating this energy hub, we are ensuring that the greater Philadelphia area will reap benefits that will energize the economy and create good-paying jobs for Pennsylvanians.”

The report says the new pipeline would lower energy bills in the region.

“Combined, the new savings to residents [in the Greater Philadelphia region] and businesses will generate $888 million each year, supporting 5,250 jobs with $324 million in earnings,” the report said.

Click here to read more about Philly’s push to become an energy hub.