Gas-Electric Interdependencies

Project Specifications

Client: Various Clients

Location: Various Locations

Services: Energy Resource Planning & Utility Analysis

Aspen’s Catherine Elder was a pro bono, independent participant in the 2022-23 North American Energy Standards Board gas-electric harmonization discussions that developed 20 recommendations to prevent a recurrence of adverse electricity and natural gas price and reliability and resiliency impacts experienced during winter storm Uri in February 2021 and Elliot in December 2022. Measures Aspen advocated include steps such as feasibility and cost to weatherize natural gas production wells, feasibility of modifying NAESB standard gas supply agreements to remove freeze-offs as a claim of force majeure, feasibility and cost of imposing natural gas price caps and other steps that would prevent loss of life and diminished quality of life due to lack of natural gas or electricity service during adverse weather events. Aspen’s Catherine Elder has been an advocate for using technology such as that provided by Project Canary to track which natural gas production wells have been winterized. She is also a regular presenter or discussant at the Rutgers Western Conference for Research into Regulated Entities. Elder was an invited speaker to the May 2022 Energy Bar Association conference where she discussed how greater gas-electric resiliency could satisfy the industries’ mutual obligation to assure reliable electricity during adverse weather events.