Tag Archives: Natural Gas

Dan Gibson Congratulations to Piedmont Natural Gas for receiving the Clean Cities Award

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Dan Gibson | Comments Off


I came across this article the other day. Piedmont Natural Gas was awarded the 2008 Clean Cities Award, given annually by the Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition (CCFC) to the business or organization that “best demonstrates excellence in clean transportation and fuel activities.” The Coalition is a local effort of the Centralina Council of Governments, a state designated regional planning agency in North Carolina comprising Anson, Cabarrus, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan, Stanly, and Union counties.

090224cleancities Congratulations to Piedmont Natural Gas for receiving the Clean Cities Award

The CCFC is one of nearly 90 Clean City Coalitions participating in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Clean Cities Program. The mission of the National Clean Cities Program is to reduce petroleum dependence, improve air quality, and expand alternative fuel use and technology. The program promotes, accelerates, and expands the use of alternative fuels in the transportation sector. Working through locally-based government- industry partnerships, the Clean Cities Program seeks to expand the use of alternatives to traditional gasoline and diesel fuel. The DOE classifies the following fuels as “alternative fuels”: biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, methanol, natural gas, propane, and solar energy.

Some of the initiatives that Piedmont was recognized for include:

  • Piedmont’s “no idle” policy for its entire fleet of utility service and distribution vehicles as well as various employee programs around carpooling to work
  • Walking to lunch instead of driving during the ozone season
  • Refueling vehicles after 6:00 p.m. to reduce VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions
  • Acquiring two natural gas forklifts for use in its Distribution Center replacing units that used propane or gasoline
  • Maintaining several vehicles in its service and distribution fleet that run on natural gas.

Congratulations again to Piedmont for some well-deserved recognition.

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Bruce Kauffmann Educating consumers about energy and natural gas

Posted on February 18, 2009 by Bruce Kauffmann | 1 Comment


A long-standing goal of AGA’s is to better educate the general public about how energy is produced and delivered to the American consumer.

For example, ask most Americans where the electricity they use in their homes comes from and they will respond, “The electric outlets.”  And they are right – sort of, because while it is true that if you plug an electric appliance into an electric outlet, it will receive electric power, that is not where electricity originally comes from.

Electricity originally comes from coal, or natural gas, or from a nuclear power or hydroelectric plant, or – increasingly – from wind or solar energy.  These original sources of energy are then converted into electricity at generation plants and delivered using transmission lines (such as those in the picture accompanying this post) to those aforementioned electric outlets.

090218lines Educating consumers about energy and natural gas

Here is another thing most Americans don’t know.  When the energy source travels from its place of origin – a coal mine in the case of coal, a wellhead in the case of natural gas – to the power plant in which it is converted to electricity, and then on to its ultimate destination at the electric outlet, it has taken a very inefficient journey.  In fact, during that journey around 70 percent of the useable energy is lost.  Most of that loss results from the generation process.

What is more, depending on what fuel is used to generate the electricity, varying amounts of greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere during the generation process.  That is why, for example, in our new environmentally conscious climate, natural gas is now the preferred fuel for electricity generation.  It is much cleaner than coal; presently it is much more abundant and reliable than wind or solar power; and it is much less controversial than nuclear power.

Of course, in addition to using natural gas to generate electricity to power electric home heaters, water heaters or stoves, natural gas is also used directly to power natural gas home heaters, water heaters or stoves.  And guess what?  This direct use of natural gas in homes or businesses is far more efficient than turning it into electricity for the same purpose – natural gas only loses about 10 percent of its useable energy traveling from the wellhead to the burner tip.  And being more efficient, these direct uses also are more environmentally friendly.  In fact, a typical American home generates twice as many greenhouse gas emissions using an electric resistance water heater than one using a comparable natural gas water heater.

That is why AGA is working to educate more Americans, including our political leaders, about the advantages of the direct use of natural gas. It increases energy efficiency, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and saves consumers money. If you’d like to see how much smaller your carbon footprint would be with increased direct use, go to www.comfortableresponsible.org and check out their carbon calculator. You might be surprised.

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Melanie Lyons Tom Skains at the New York Society of Security Analysts

Posted on January 30, 2009 by Melanie Lyons | Comments Off


Earlier this week, AGA’s chairman Tom Skains spoke before the New York Society of Security Analysts. He told the packed room that in today’s current financial and economic crisis, natural gas can help revitalize the economy, fight global climate change and enhance America’s energy security. You can download Tom’s presentation and remarks here.

AGA executives also told attendees about our organizations top issues for 2009:  supply, dividend tax, LIHEAP funding and the environment.  An Associated Press reporter who was in attendance captured the event nicely.

090130nyssaenergydemand Tom Skains at the New York Society of Security Analysts

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Tom Moskitis The law of supply and demand…still working

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Tom Moskitis | Comments Off


As we continue to make the case on Capitol Hill for expanded exploration and production of natural gas on the outer continental shelf (OCS), I’ve encountered a recurring argument from staffers whose bosses would have no problem with putting OCS energy leasing bans back in place.

The price of natural gas is half of what it was less than a year ago, they say, and your own industry people (meaning the producers) tell us supplies are abundant. There is no real need, they conclude, for more access.

The point being missed in this argument, however, is that the economic law of supply and demand is still at work. Supply today exceeds demand, thus the drop in prices, whereas just a few years ago the reverse was true. Despite the cold winter so far, demand for natural gas is way down due to the recession. People are simply not buying things like houses or cars, and they are buying fewer of other things like clothes or even bottled water. And all of this impacts the demand for natural gas.

Think about what goes into a new car – steel, glass, plastic, aluminum, fiberglass – all of it is natural gas intensive. The huge drop in gas demand in the industrial sector, especially in manufacturing, has led to excess available supply, and indeed to lower prices.  But now is not the time for complacency!

It may take several years for our economy to recover and while low energy prices may have lessened the sense of urgency we felt this past summer, our lawmakers need to look at the long-term reality of the situation.  It will take years if not decades to find and bring new resources to market. Because of this lag, failure to act now to ensure we have the supply that the future economy will demand, will only ensure high-prices for all.

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