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Dive Brief:
A recent report by Energy Ventures Analysis for the Natural Gas Council concluded that reforms implemented following Winter Storm Uri in 2021 helped insulate the electric grid from outages during Winter Storm Fern in January, even amid near-record consumption driven by sustained cold across the Central and Eastern U.S.
The report credited winterization investments, flexible liquefied natural gas operations and large-scale storage withdrawals with helping to maintain system reliability during the event, noting that storage supplied roughly 30% of total U.S. gas demand during peak periods.
Although the report found improvements have been made to the interconnected energy system since 2021, it also concluded “the full stress test of post-Uri improvements has not yet occurred under Uri-level temperature conditions,” and continued effort is needed. The authors recommended stronger gas-electric coordination, including firmer fuel assurance for generators, protections for critical gas infrastructure during grid emergencies and continued investment in pipeline and storage capacity.
