FERC Implored to Prioritize Gas Pipeline Reliability
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Multiple utilities have urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to identify options for improving gas pipeline reliability. The reasoning is that due to increased demand, as well as increasingly volatile weather patterns, the operational capacity of pipelines has declined. This, in turn, has reduced the ability of the U.S. gas pipeline infrastructure to reliability deliver gas across the value chain.
How Gas Pipeline Reliability Can Be Improved
The FERC filing was executed by Con Ed, Old Dominion, Orange & Rockland, Washington Gas Light, and 4 National Grid utility companies (Boston Gas, Brooklyn Union Gas, KeySpan Gas East, and Niagara Mohawk Power).
The filing suggests multiple paths the FERC could traverse to accomplish the ultimate goal of boosting pipeline reliability, including:
- Developing improved communication protocols for extreme weather events.
- Standardizing pipeline scheduling and confirmation procedures.
- Mandating that interstate pipeline operators report reliability metrics annually.
- Directing gas pipeline operators to determine if a soon-to-be retired piece of infrastructure will impact customer reliability.
- Developing financial incentives for pipeline reliability.
The filing, delivered to the FERC on April 25th, is an important first step toward boosting reliability for both gas and electric utilities. Right now, the interstate gas transportation and storage system is strained, and something must be done to alleviate the stress on the system.
Whether or not any of these suggestions will actually be implemented is anyone’s guess, but I have to believe that at least some of them will eventually come to fruition. Simply put, energy reliability is the backbone of everything we do, and therefore I refuse to believe that the FERC would fail to act, knowing the benefits of being proactive to keep the engine running smoothly.
The FERC will analyze and discuss the filing in the coming weeks. Check back here for updates. Hopefully, enhancements will be set in motion relatively quickly for improving gas pipeline reliability sooner rather than later.
