• The current demand to update the gas grid is more about reducing utility expenditures, increasing energy conservation, and meeting global climate initiatives and mandates, rather than dealing with failing system integrity issues
• Southern California Gas (SoCalGas) was recently approved by the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) to implement a $1.05 billion, 5.5 million meter AMI system in Southern California. SoCalGas is the largest gas utility in the United States and is a gas-only utility
• The gas grid received zero funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Putting it all together

The article goes on to talk about some of the initiatives to combine the information from the electric smart meters and the natural gas smart meters so that consumers can get comprehensive information on their energy use. They focus on sub-metering. In this process, a gas module is put on an existing gas meter, sending signals to an electricity meter. In turn, the meter sends a signal containing gas and electricity data to the utility business system.

Let us know your thoughts on the smart grid before you skip over to CleanTechies to read their article.

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Read about AGA’s Vision 2020 Strategic Planning Initiative in the July issue of American Gas.

The good news is that, given its domestic abundance, environmental superiority and greater efficiency, natural gas, especially when used directly in America’s homes and businesses, will be the preferred fuel for years to come—and that should remain the case regardless of whatever climate change legislation Congress eventually passes.  But as Vision 2020 has pointed out, there are plenty of challenges and there will be plenty of changes ahead.

For one, natural gas utilities need to re-think their traditional business model of delivering the commodity—natural gas—to homes and businesses for heating, water heating and cooking applications.  That is because new competitors are already re-thinking that business model, which is another significant change that already is taking place.  Today companies such as Google, Intel, Microsoft and Home Depot are developing a variety of cost-effective energy solutions, including energy efficiency and “green” products and services that reduce energy use and save customers money.  The utility needs do likewise, but that starts with a better understanding of what products and services the customers will want.  To that end, utilities also need to re-think their relationship with customers, evolving from service providers into partners, empowering their customers to manage their own energy use through a variety of energy efficient solutions.

This in turn means continuing to ensure that new generations of highly efficient and “energy smart” natural gas products and services are available to the customer, which requires an industry-wide effort to support technological research and development.

Vision 2020 also points out that utilities will need to re-think their relationship with their regulators.  In the new carbon-constrained world in which energy efficiency and conservation are the goals, our industry will need a new regulatory construct that rewards, not penalizes, utilities for partnering with their customers to reduce natural gas use.

All in all, as the article in American Gas makes clear, a brave new world is coming and AGA’s natural gas utility members need to be prepared for it, which is one reason AGA developed the Vision 2020 Strategic Planning Initiative.   The other reason was to bring our members together to share ideas, strategize, and not only get more involved with AGA, but with one another.  Facilitating that involvement is one of the things AGA always has been, and always will be, very good at.  In an industry facing fundamental change, it’s nice to know some things won’t change.

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With optimism comes naysayers and thank goodness for them all. Contrary views cause us to examine our core beliefs and offer an opportunity to explain them in language citizens and policy makers can understand. For example, the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) noted in June that their most recent view of natural gas future supply in the United States exceeded 2,000 trillion cubic feet (tcf), including proved reserves (published by the Energy Information Administration). The assessment is the largest ever published by the group and founded on current technology and foreseeable economics and, in addition, comes from a non-political spectrum of experts that actually work in the areas they are evaluating.

The PGC as a group has been assessing natural gas resources for over 40 years. Much of the resource optimism is centered on onshore natural gas shales and comes because technology has allowed these low porosity, low permeability, unconventional reservoirs to be produced. The committee does not say how and when the resources will be developed but offers a snapshot of potential based on their knowledge and expertise.

Regarding the shales specifically, they become an easy target for naysayers that believe the resource potential is not real and that their productive characteristics cannot meet the future attributed to the resource optimism. So, what is true? Something between naysayer and optimist perhaps?

The problem with arguing these points based on current decline curves, innate biases or even the most objective opinion is that they miss the point of resource development in this country. The fact is that more natural gas has been produced in the United States during the past forty years at a lower cost than any person could have imagined. It has occurred because of new resource plays, evolving technology to extract the gas, changes in energy economics and most importantly – new ideas.

Focusing on a single element of the resource story is dangerous and it is inherently self-limiting. Natural gas abundance in North America is predicated on diversity – not a single resource element. To meet its full potential in our energy economy, natural gas needs to be developed responsibly from onshore conventional and unconventional reservoirs (including shales, tight sands and coal seams). Creating infrastructure to bring arctic gas to lower-48 markets is also crucial and continuing to develop offshore gas supplies responsibly must be a part of our energy future.

Shales are a part of that future but only one element of the whole. To say that shales or coal seams or any other source of natural gas will not meet current expectations is as speculative as the opposite bookend that shapes these arguments. Those arguments will be resolved with time but one fundamental remains.

The outlook for natural gas future supply in the United States has grown with time not precipitously declined. Sources of gas have been broadened and a partnership between private investment, government and creative ideas have prevailed and will continue to prevail as the primary factors responsible for delivering a low-carbon fuel to our homes, industries and businesses.

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In other words, lobbying.  We are a country of 300 million people, which means countless “interest groups”—essentially public and private associations formed by like-minded citizens—are bound to arise, all seeking government support in promoting our views, protecting our interests and, yes, redressing our grievances.   Since all 300 million of us can’t individually petition the government we hire petitioners—lobbyists like Joe—to represent us.

Thus it is Joe’s job, as a lobbyist in the natural gas industry, to educate our public officials at all levels of government about those issues that are a high priority not only to natural gas utilities, but also to their customers.  For example, the more Joe can convince legislators and regulators to pass laws or fashion regulations that result in low natural gas prices, the better it is for natural gas utilities and customers alike.  The better it is for our country as well.

As it happens, Joe’s article could not be more timely because on July 1, a group called “1 for All,” which is a national nonpartisan organization working to increase awareness of our First Amendment freedoms, is launching a nationwide campaign to remind the public that in addition to the First Amendment’s four famous freedoms—of speech, the press, religion and assembly—that fifth freedom, to petition for “redress of grievances,” occupies a central place in our public life.  Indeed, as both Joe and “1 for All” would certainly agree, the more registered lobbyists there are in Washington the better because they allow more different groups—small as well as large, new as well as established, modest as well as wealthy—to have their voices heard and their views known to the government.  That is exactly what our Founding Fathers intended when they put the freedom to petition in the First Amendment.

To learn more about “1 for All,” which is affiliated with both the Newseum and the First Amendment Center in Washington, D.C., visit its website www.1forAll.us.  As our nation celebrates its 234th birthday on the 4th of July we should remember the many freedoms that make this celebration so worthwhile.

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“Through the directive I’m signing, we’re also going to work with public and private sectors to develop the advanced infrastructure that will be necessary for plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles.  And we’re going to continue to work to diversify our fuel mix, including biofuels, natural gas, and other cleaner sources of energy.  I believe that it’s possible, in the next 20 years, for vehicles to use half the fuel and produce half the pollution that they do today.  But that’s only going to happen if we are willing to do what’s necessary for the sake of our economy, our security, and our environment.”

I am happy to see President Obama encouraging the use of natural gas—we agree that this is one of the solutions to solving the energy crisis our nation faces. His comments about the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel are also quite timely as our friend Castlen Kennedy began her journey from Austin to Boston in a CNG-fueled car last week. Rumor has it she will be in Washington, DC on Tuesday, so if you’re in the SW part of the city make sure you stop by to say hello!

For more information about President Obama’s speech, please visit the White House website.

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They plan to select three to four wave energy converter device makers for the 5-year project, which PG&E considers a pilot effort to test different types of technologies, said Jana Morris, a PG&E spokeswoman. According to Jana, PG&E has $1.2 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and $4.8 million in approved spending from the California Public Utilities Commission to take two projects through the regulatory processes.

Here are some other articles about the project:

Making a Splash: PG&E Dives Headlong Into Wave Power Project | Renewable Energy World

PG&E Dives Headlong Into Wave Power Project

Peak Energy: Tapping The Source: The Power Of The Oceans

California’s PG&E Takes the Plunge into Wave Power | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World

PG&E to ride the waves with Finavera | Cleantech Group




Watch this video about “Wavebob” to see how some of the technology could work.

Let us know about the different energy projects in your area.

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The tragic and still un-contained oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may well go down as one of the most significant environmental disasters of record.  That being said, the fact remains that United States’ insatiable demand for energy is unchanged.

As a country, we still use an enormous amount of energy every day and that energy has to come from somewhere.  Compounding the already contentious debate surrounding our dependence on foreign sources of energy, there is a good chance that this disaster may sour Americans on additional, let alone existing, domestic oil production.  Whatever comes next should reflect a more disaggregated but strong domestic energy framework that takes advantage of our nation’s many alternative resources.

AGA has long supported, to the fullest extent possible, the development of a diverse domestic energy supply, including coal, oil, nuclear, wind, hydro, solar and, of course, natural gas.  And while everyone is encouraged by the increased awareness being brought to renewables, the fact remains that all of the power produced by alternative and renewable fuel sources meets only a small portion of the country’s daily energy needs.

A realistic plan for a sustainable low-carbon future, therefore, must include, and support, traditional and proven fuel sources such as natural gas.  With major energy producers publicly turning to natural gas as their fuel of choice, the message is clear—as the cleanest of all fossil fuels, natural gas can provide the nation and its consumers with a proven, reliable, low-carbon source of energy.

Equally important is ensuring that the most effective and efficient application of natural gas—directly using natural gas to heat homes, to heat water, for cooking, and for other end-use applications such as natural gas vehicles—is encouraged and supported.  Direct use of natural gas is more efficient, more cost effective and greener than converting gas to electricity to power the same end-use applications.

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As expected, the bill is a mixed bag for natural gas utilities.   AGA is pleased to note that it includes proportional allowance allocation, and also recognizes that mandating that one-third of those allowances be spent on energy efficiency programs is not achievable. However, it does not meet other threshold criteria that AGA would like to see in any climate legislation, including end-use natural gas related research and development and carbon labeling for appliances.

AGA continues to point to the industry’s stellar emissions record –our customers have reduced carbon emissions by 40 percent over the last 40 years – as proof that our models are working, and working well.

For AGA’s full statement, click here.

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A story in the May issue of American Gas magazine illustrates this point perfectly. One of AGA’s member companies, Memphis Light, Gas and Water (MLGW) in Memphis, TN, saw an opportunity to use its Twitter account, which it had started in 2008 with little fanfare or following, to communicate with its customers in the wake of a terrible storm and tornado that knocked out power to about 140,000 customers—about one-third of MLGW’s customer base—in the Memphis area.  Since Twitter can be accessed from a cell phone, Blackberry and iPhone in addition to a computer, MLGW could “tweet” to its customers, regardless of where they were, updates on the power outages, power restoration efforts, number of workers in the field, safety tips, and even contact information to get more comprehensive reports.

According to Glen Thomas, the communications and public relations supervisor at MLGW and author of the story in American Gas, the number of MLGW’s Twitter followers quickly went from about 220 to 1,500 and at one point MLGW even got a message from Twitter that the company had exceeded its tweet limit for that day.

But MLGW also got lots of messages back from customers wanting more information, including when they could expect power to be restored in their own homes, so MLGW began tweeting back, giving customers more specific updates on when a particular neighborhood might expect service restored.

MLGW’s use of Twitter even attracted local media attention; local television stations and newspapers did stories on MLGW’s use of Twitter, which was both good public relations and free advertising.

Now that the storm has literally and figuratively blown over, MLGW plans to continue to use Twitter for a variety of communications objectives, including tweeting about energy efficiency, conservation tips, community events and the like.  Feedback from customers via Twitter is also being carefully monitored as a way to determine customer satisfaction with the company.

Yes, there are challenges, including staffing and time, but because Twitter is, quite literally, an instant communications tool—messages cannot exceed 140 characters—it is a way for companies to get and receive information quickly and succinctly.  It certainly seems to be working well for Memphis, Light, Gas and Water.   The company’s Twitter followers (and you can be one of them at www.twitter.com/mlgw) now number 2,500—and growing.

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