American Gas Association praises natural gas utilities for reduction in emissions
The American Gas Association (AGA) on Monday praised America’s natural gas utilities for efforts to reduce emissions following a report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that found greenhouse gas emissions from local distribution systems decreased by 74 percent between 1990 and 2014.
The 2016 EPA Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks report found a significant decrease in greenhouse gas emissions at local energy distribution centers. The report attributed the emissions reduction to the restoration of pipeline systems, meters and regulation stations.
“A concerted effort by America’s natural gas utilities to upgrade and modernize our nation’s pipeline network to enhance safety has contributed to a declining trend in emissions from natural gas distribution systems,” the AGA said. “Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have a program or policies to facilitate accelerated replacement and modernization of natural gas distribution pipelines no longer fit for service. In the case of the states without such programs, several utility systems in those states no longer have pipelines made of legacy materials and others recover their costs through annual rate cases.”
The report showed that natural gas utility companies account for only six percent of total methane emissions from the natural gas value chain today. Continued efforts to modernize and update gas pipeline systems are expected to further lower methane emissions within the country.
