In late March, APGA, as a part of the Business Council for Clean Energy (BCSE), sent a letter regarding resilience and disaster preparedness to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. The letter requests that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) coordinate with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies to support energy system resilience investments while providing technical assistance to states and tapping private sector expertise.
Local resilience investments are enabled by the 2018 Disaster Recovery and Reform Act (DRRA) which created the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
APGA hopes DOE and other agencies recognize the role natural gas plays in energy resilience for all Americans. Recent findings show that 99.95% of Texans did not lose their residential gas services during the February 2021 winter storm. As well, residential gas remained reliable despite a 155% increase in demand during that period.
In addition to BCSE and its members, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) along with their members signed on to this letter to Secretary Granholm. Read the press statement here about the outreach on resilience and disaster preparedness to the Energy Department.
Relatedly, APGA hosted a webinar a few weeks ago with American Gas Foundation (AGF) leadership. During that event, AGF highlighted a study about how America’s natural gas system can support resilience through its inherent physical and operational capabilities to meet the volatile demand profiles resulting from resilience events. APGA members can learn more about AGF’s report here.
For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at ssaulters@apga.org.