HEA prepared for possible natural gas shortfall

By Bradley Janorschke
Winter in Alaska is a beautiful time of the year, but it also requires each of us to take some extra precautions. The snow and cold temperatures can be great for outdoor enthusiasts, but those same conditions can create problems in the event of a power outage.
Every fall, Homer Electric Association urges its members to take a moment to make sure their homes are prepared for the possibility of an extended power outage during the winter months. Now is a good time to revisit your family emergency plan and make sure you have proper supplies such as drinking water, first aid kits, warm blankets, battery powered radios, flashlights and extra batteries on hand.
This year, in addition to the possibility of weather-related outages, there is a concern about power interruptions due to a natural gas shortfall. The natural gas supply in Cook Inlet has been on a downward trend for many years, and while a shortfall is not likely, it is a situation that we need to be prepared for.
HEA currently has a power supply contract with Chugach Electric Association that calls for Chugach Electric to supply HEA’s power needs through 2013.
More than 90 percent of the power generated by Chugach Electric is fueled by natural gas.
In an effort to be proactive, Homer Electric has joined with Chugach Electric, Matanuska Electric Association, Municipal Light and Power (Anchorage) and ENSTAR to make sure that in the event of a temporary gas shortfall, a plan is in place to deal with the situation.
It is important to point out that the utilities have worked together many times over the years to ensure that there is enough gas supply for power and heating needs. There are many tools available to system operators to manage a gas delivery issue, including diverting gas from the ConocoPhillips Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) plant in Nikiski, increasing hydro power production at Bradley Lake, purchasing oil-generated power from Fairbanks and discontinuing power sales to the Interior.
ML&P also has the ability to run some of its generating equipment on diesel, and this may be used to “free” up some additional gas supplies. Running on diesel is more expensive than natural gas and all customers of Chugach Electric, including Homer Electric, and ML&P would share in the increased electric generation costs in order to get through the emergency.
If circumstances warrant such action, utilities may ask customers and members to take voluntary steps to reduce the demand on gas and electric systems. Encouraging and promoting energy conservation is always a priority of Homer Electric, and in this case, it would make even more sense to reduce consumption. Simple measures such as lowering the thermostat, turning down the setting on the water heater, turning off gas fireplaces, postponing doing laundry and turning off all unnecessary lights and appliances would have a positive impact.
In the event the above steps were insufficient to deal with a gas delivery problem, a last resort would be intentional power interruptions. If this should occur, the outages would be of a short duration, approximately 20 minutes, for a pre-determined area. The outages would be “rolling outages,” so that the interruptions are shared equally by all customers in the Railbelt.
We do not anticipate that intentional outages will be necessary, but it is important to be ready in case those kinds of measures are needed.
In the coming months, we will be working with our partner utilities on a communications plan outlining energy conservation steps we will be encouraging customers to take this winter. These will be voluntary actions and, for the most part, will be the kind of conservation tools that are always good to use.
Being prepared for a possible gas shortage is basically the same as being ready for other emergencies – such as winter storms – that create power outages. By being proactive and working together, I am certain Homer Electric will be able to meet the needs of our members.

Bradley P. Janorschke is the General Manager for Homer Electric Association.

Subscribe via RSS

Subscribe via email