According to a trade group representing pipeline companies, the U.S. urgently needs to increase its natural gas pipeline capacity to ensure a reliable gas supply, especially during extreme cold weather conditions. This comes in the wake of a report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corp (NERC), which highlighted a regulatory blind spot that resulted in power outages during Winter Storm Elliott in December 2022.
Winter Storm Elliott brought sub-freezing temperatures and extreme weather warnings to nearly two-thirds of the U.S., leading to unforeseen energy generation supply losses. The inquiry into the power outages revealed that declining production and increased demand for natural gas caused a significant drop in line pressures, putting the pipeline system at risk of collapse.
The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA), representing operators of around 200,000 miles (322,000 km) of pipelines, stated that its members utilized all available flexibility and storage withdrawals to deliver as much natural gas as possible. However, the report highlighted the need for more pipeline capacity to maintain a resilient system that can provide homes and the power grid with access to multiple sources of this critical fuel.
NERC’s 2023-24 winter outlook warned of prolonged, wide-area cold snaps threatening the availability of fuel supplies for natural gas-fired generation, particularly in the U.S. Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast regions. It emphasized the shortage of natural gas pipeline and infrastructure in these areas.
Overall, the call for more natural gas pipeline capacity aims to prevent a repetition of last winter’s power outages and ensure a reliable and resilient gas supply system for the U.S. in the face of extreme weather conditions.
(Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
