AGA Hosts Inaugural Natural Gas Readiness Forum to Improve Energy Reliability 

WASHINGTON – The American Gas Association hosted the inaugural Natural Gas Readiness Forum Meeting (Readiness Forum) on December 16 and 17 in Atlanta in collaboration with other energy trade associations. The Readiness Forum is a recommendation passed by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Gas-Electric Alignment for Reliability (GEAR) Working Group last month. The meeting in Atlanta fostered operational education, situational awareness and peer-to-peer connections across the entire natural gas industry, electric sector, and federal and state government and end-users. As the energy system across the country becomes increasingly integrated with natural gas playing a critical role in meeting the energy needs and goals of the nation, gas-electric coordination has become more important to maintaining reliability during extreme weather events.   

“The unmatched resilience and reliability of natural gas delivery is a fundamental part of our energy system,” said AGA President and CEO Karen Harbert. “Reliability is something our industry is known for, and we’re pleased to help lead this effort to ensure that value to provide reliable energy to customers and communities is held throughout the entire energy industry.” 

“GEAR was established not to produce a report, to do additional analysis, or to look at the past, but to look to the future and look for ways to get alignment and put forward solutions,” said NARUC President and Georgia Public Service Commissioner Tricia Pridemore during the meeting. “I’m very grateful to AGA for stepping up and leading this forum.” 

Presentations at the meeting explored a variety of topics related to the reliability of the energy system, the role of natural gas and how the natural gas system prepares for periods of high natural gas demand. The American Gas Association has strongly supported efforts to improve the resilience of the energy system during peak demand periods.  

Featured speakers at the meeting included: