NEWS
July 31, 2023
NGSA Disappointed in NAESB Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum Report Language
(Washington, D.C.) – The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) issued a statement today following the release of the NAESB Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum report.
Dena Wiggins, President and CEO of NGSA, said:
“NGSA is disappointed in the recent NAESB Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum report language that fundamentally mischaracterizes voting differences as a lack of seriousness about the problems at stake and implies a general unwillingness to further collaborate in finding solutions. Reading the report, one would assume no substantive progress was made. Yet, in the months of active participation in the forum sessions, it was abundantly clear that most of the participants from both the gas and power sectors agree on the need to find solutions mitigating reliability risks. After sincere participation by so many, we believe the foreword to the report fails to accurately capture the benefit of the diverse perspectives presented during the forum sessions. While consensus-building in a forum composed of hundreds of people with diverse interests is difficult if not impossible, NAESB’s recommendations can provide a solid launchpad for further work to be conducted in various venues and NGSA looks forward to collaborating in those efforts as well.
“As the record demonstrates, NGSA was an active participant in the nearly year-long process to address cold weather fuel availability challenges for gas generation. We provided input during most of the meetings and submitted 12 rounds of comments offering perspective and constructive suggestions for improvements. We ultimately supported 80 percent of the co-chairs’ recommendations. While many participants bring divergent perspectives, it is these competing views that, through more direct engagement, can help find new ways to mitigate reliability risks in a balanced manner.
“Unfortunately, the foreword of this report suggests the reliability challenges referenced in recent winter storms were primarily a gas supply issue. Yet, the findings in thorough investigations indicate that there is much work to do across both the gas and electric sectors to ensure gas availability for power, especially during emergency events. We look forward to continuing our engagement with the electric sector in this important discourse.”
