Natural Gas Council releases white paper on natural gas reliability, resilience

The Natural Gas Council released a report Monday that focused on the reliability and resilience of operational processes, physical aspects and contractual foundations of the natural gas system.

“Given the reliability of the nation’s producers, pipelines and distribution network, natural gas should remain an integral component of the electric generation portfolio,” said Barry Russell, president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), which leads the Natural Gas Council in 2017. “The findings in this study provide specific recommendations on how the electric industry can take full advantage of America’s natural gas resources.”

The paper notes that in 2016, fewer than 100,000 natural gas customers experienced a disruption, while 8.1 million Americans overall experienced power outages.

The natural gas industry has grown approximately 30 percent since 2010, the report said. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) Short-Term Energy Outlook projects that the U.S. will produce a record almost 75 billion cubic feet per day by the end of the year.

“Clean-burning natural gas impacts virtually every aspect of our daily lives,” American Petroleum Institute (API) President and CEO Jack Gerard said. “This affordable energy resource has lowered costs for consumers and manufacturers and as this report confirms, provides a reliable source of energy for electricity generation that has powered countless communities across the nation. Moving forward, we must embrace this abundant energy resource for the continued benefit of American workers, consumers, and the environment.”