Emerging Focus on Natural Gas Storage

As evidenced by the recent work of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the National Petroleum Council (NPC), regulators and the industry are placing greater emphasis on the role natural gas storage should play in supporting a reliable energy system in the US. Their work has highlighted that a dependable natural gas supply will be essential to meet the diverse and evolving needs of the energy market and has identified natural gas storage as a key component in delivering reliability and sustainability in the coming years. This focus is a result of the growing interdependence of the natural gas and electric sectors: natural gas has become the primary fuel for electricity generation over the past decade, with the electric power sector now accounting for more than 40 percent of US natural gas consumption. During the same period of time, rapid growth in natural gas demand, variable demand patterns, and frequent hourly and daily balancing challenges have introduced significant operational constraints for both sectors.