NEW ENGLAND DODGED A WINTER STORM CANNON BALL

Last month was one of New England’s better Januarys. Post-Thanksgiving, the region won a rare rating from the North American Reliability Council, It warned that New England uniquely was at “high risk to natural gas pipeline capacity. It warned that “Natural gas production often falls off in extreme winter temperatures, as supply infrastructure is affected by freezing issues, and Generator Operators that fail to secure firm fuel delivery are frequently unable to access fully subscribed pipelines.”

The warning is shown below in NERC’s annual winter assessment by the vertical cross bars. No region except New England was put on this super warning list.

Scattered across an array of recent NERC assessments were repeated warnings: New England’s dependence on aged and leaky gas pipelines, combined with its status as a region at the end of limited gas supplies, makes it particularly vulnerable to power outages. When gas and water combine in freezing temperatures they form gas hydrates. The hydrates freeze and plug pipelines, both those which fuel electric power lines and smaller distribution pipes which heat homes and businesses. In the last two major winter storms to hit New England before this year, the power system suffered major outages of both gas and electricity generated by gas. Indeed, more than half of the power serving the region during…