From wellhead to meter, the upstream natural gas and utility sectors have made strides in improving winter weather reliability of the power grid – as evidenced by minimal problems during January’s deep freeze – but stakeholders remain divided on whether existing pipelines rules are sufficient.
Conflicting views emerged in comments filed with FERC after a meeting of the Federal-State Current Issues Collaborative between the agency and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners in November. The collaborative is a continuation of formal government efforts aimed at fixing vulnerabilities in the electric grid exposed by winter storms Uri in February 2021 and Elliott in December 2022.
The American Gas Association (AGA) expressed support for ongoing industry efforts while highlighting progress in winter preparedness and industry coordination in a filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. For AGA’s member gas distribution companies, the highest priority “is the delivery of natural gas to customers safely, reliably, responsibly, and at just and reasonable rates,” AGA said.