This LiveWire Spark concerns NERC’s recently released report on the electric and gas industries’ interdependent operations. With expected strong growth of gas-fired generation in the U.S. energy system, the reliable delivery of natural gas will become increasingly important.
Overview: NERC has released a special report describing the interdependencies between the natural gas and electric industries on each other’s reliable operations. This issue gained high-level visibility during last February’s ice storm in the Southwest U.S. – where the loss of gas fuel to generators partially contributed to the loss of 6000 MW of load. Conversely, the loss of electric power to pumps that moveproduct out of production fields, halted gas delivery service for an extended time.