NARUC names seven industry leaders to form gas-electric working group

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) officially appointed seven industry representatives to serve on its new Gas-Electric Alignment for Reliability (GEAR) initiative this week, as a means to better energy system maintenance and improvement by the gas and electric industry.

“The gas and electric industries power our nation,” Julie Fedorchak, NARUC president, said. “GEAR will take the numerous existing studies that identify the major gaps between these industries and work on solutions to close those gaps and reduce friction points so both systems can serve customers reliably. We have assembled a team of experts who have been in the trenches on these issues for years and can effectively speak for their sector. I really appreciate their readiness to be a part of this important initiative and I look forward to their work.”

While gas and electric systems have historically worked – by and large – independently, Fedorchak noted that gas is being used more and more for electricity generation. That, in turn, has increased the demand for coordination. As a result, GEAR will recommend actions to get the two more lock-step in responding to problems identified by reports, as well as reliability overall.

Mike Bryson of PJM, Mike Calviou of National Grid, Tina Faraca of TC Energy, William Mojica of NiSource, Chris Moser of NRG, Rob Perkins of KinderMorgan and Ben Schoene of ConocoPhillips were appointed to the group in various roles as industry representatives. It will be chaired by Georgia Commissioner Tricia Pridemore.