The goal of this project is to provide opportunities for state public service commissioners and commission staff to better understand regulatory issues and opportunities related to natural gas and its use as a fuel for both electricity generation and thermal load.

National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), Washington, DC 20005

This project aims to conduct Natural Gas Partnership dialogues at DOE or National Lab facilities, natural gas electric generation facilities, or advanced natural gas research or demonstration sites; create educational programming and resources to effectively share relevant information with state-level utility regulators through webinars, peer sharing calls, briefing papers, and related materials as appropriate; and support Commission participation in NARUC, DOE, national laboratory, or related natural gas forums, workshops, and research and development (R&D) collaboratives addressing key policy issues around natural gas use and advanced technologies, featuring researchers as participants where appropriate.

Through this partnership, NARUC will provide opportunities for state public service commissioners and commission staff to better understand regulatory issues and opportunities related to natural gas and its use as a fuel for both electricity generation and thermal load. NARUC will enhance FE’s ability to educate and inform state commissioners and staff on improving the operations and efficiency of existing gas infrastructure and hear their emerging concerns.

• NARUC leveraged prior research to produce and publish a briefing paper, “Artificial Intelligence for Natural Gas Utilities: A Primer,” in October 2020, following extensive NARUC member and peer review. 
• NARUC supported four Committee on Gas conference calls:
  • September 18, 2020: ARPA-E briefing on the Rapid Encapsulation of Pipelines Avoiding Intensive Replacement (REPAIR) program 
  • October 16, 2020: Consolidated Edison of New York briefing regarding a pilot program for the deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) enabled natural gas detectors in residential buildings 
  • March 19, 2021: Illinois Commerce Commission staff presentation on elemental sulfur and di-thiazine formations in natural gas pipelines 
  • April 16, 2021: American Gas Association presentation on effects of Winter Storm Uri on natural gas infrastructure and utilities 
• NARUC convened three informational briefings featuring FECM Office of Oil and Natural Gas senior leadership:
  •  August 17, 2020: National Petroleum Council briefing on “Dynamic Delivery: America’s Evolving Oil and Natural Gas Transportation Infrastructure” report
  • December 18, 2020: U.S. DOE briefing on “U.S. Oil and Natural Gas: Providing Energy Security and Supporting Our Quality of Life” report
  • January 15, 2021: U.S. DOE presentation on European Union methane strategy, the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership, and implications for U.S. LNG exports
• NARUC staff continued working on a white paper on state regulatory actions to facilitate renewable natural gas development. NARUC held meetings and email communications with staff at the American Gas Association (AGA), Renewable Gas Coalition, and Renewable Thermal Collaborative, as well as the Wisconsin Public Services Comission, to gauge interest and request feedback on scope. Staff developed a modified outline considering work done by AGA and other stakeholders, as well as a DOE-funded Deloitte summary of Renewable Natural Gas developments and delivered the outline to DOE for feedback on September 22. NARUC staff await DOE feedback on the outline and will be ready to begin drafting the paper upon receipt.
• With DOE’s support, NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation staff and Natural Gas Partnership leadership have expanded the awareness of public utility commissions around emerging technologies and regulatory best practices to improve the safety, reliability, resilience, affordability, and environmental performance of U.S. natural gas infrastructure.
• In March 2022, the group traveled to the University of California, Irvine campus for presentations. Representatives of SoCal Gas, Bloom Energy, the Green Hydrogen Coalition, the California Energy Commission, GTI, SunGas Renewables, EPRI, U.S. DOE, University of California Irvine, and Anaergia made presentations on a variety of topics related to natural gas decarbonization pathways, including gas utility decarbonization analysis and planning, the role of gas infrastructure in decarbonization, technical issues around the blending of renewable natural gas and hydrogen in gas distribution pipelines, and more. Slides are available at: https://pubs.naruc.org/pub/6C44ECFD-1866-DAAC-99FB-695F4A1D0062.
• NARUC staff supported seven sessions during the NARUC Winter Policy Summit, February 13 – 16, 2022 in Washington, DC.

All recordings and presentations from conference calls and informational briefings are posted on NARUC’s website at: https://www.naruc.org/cpi-1/energy-infrastructure-modernization/natural-gas-infrastructure-modernization
 

$850,000

$0

NETL — Anthony Zammerilli (anthony.zammerilli@netl.doe.gov or 304-285-4641)
NARUC — Danielle Byrnett (dbyrnett@naruc.org or 202-898-2217)