Power Struggle: The Electric Grid’s Natural Gas Challenge

Energy Policy Now

As the nation’s reliance on natural gas as a fuel for electricity generation has grown, so have reliability challenges.

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Over 40% of U.S. electricity is generated by gas-fired powerplants yet, double the role the fuel played two decades ago. Yet the past few years have exposed risks arising from our growing reliance on gas-fired generation.

Major power outages in Texas and the Eastern U.S. have highlighted the fact that gas generators are vulnerable to disruption of the natural gas supply networks that fuel them. And, while the electricity and natural gas systems have become increasingly interdependent, there remains surprisingly limited coordination of the planning, operation, and regulation of the two industries. This fact complicates efforts to address reliability concerns.

Seth Blumsack, director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University, discusses the challenge of coordinating the nation’s natural gas and electricity systems as gas has become the predominant fuel for generators, and a key balancing resource for intermittent renewable energy. Blumsack explains the growing interdependence of the nation’s natural gas and electricity networks, and explores efforts to address reliability concerns through better coordination of the systems.

Seth Blumsack is director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University.

Related Content

The Key to Electric Grid Reliability: Modernizing Governance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-key-to-electric-grid-reliability-modernizing-governance/

Coordinated Policy and Targeted Investment for an Orderly and Reliable Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coordinated-policy-and-targeted-investment-for-an-orderly-and-reliable-energy-transition/

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