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The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Task Force on Natural Gas Resource Planning has outlined four roadmaps for natural gas distribution planning by public utility commissions.
State public utility commissions are charged with ensuring that utility investments will result in safe, affordable and reliable service. In 2023, commissioners from 20 states collaborated to learn from each other and from a wide range of experts to rethink how natural gas resource planning could help them achieve their goals.
The task force members identified four topic areas that are relevant across states with varying policy goals. A cohort was formed for each topic area and idealized roadmaps were created to serve as inspiration and starting points for colleagues throughout the country facing similar challenges. The objective is to enhance state utility regulators’ ability to ensure reliable, affordable and safe natural gas service while also meeting state policy goals.
“State utility regulators are navigating an energy landscape that is changing more rapidly than ever. Through this Task Force, we were able to take a fresh, collaborative look at how natural gas resource planning can better support energy objectives,” Commissioner Fitz Johnson of the Georgia Public Service Commission said. “These roadmaps provide commissions with practical, flexible starting points to approach complex decisions with greater clarity and confidence.”
Each roadmap outlines steps in a hypothetical planning process. Each step discusses the following items:
Information Needs: What information the commission needs from regulated utilities and/or stakeholders to arrive at a decision grounded in evidence.
Process and Participants: How the commission engages regulated utilities and/or stakeholders in each phase of planning and in what forum(s) planning discussions will take place.
Outputs to Take into Next Steps: The final product of each step is necessary to inform and enable subsequent parts of the process.
“We are grateful to the commissioners, staff and subject-matter experts who contributed their time and expertise over the past two years to the Gas Task Force,” Danielle Sass Byrnett, senior director of the NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation, which supported the initiative, said. “They did so with a spirit of openness, dedication and perseverance.”
Commissioner Kathryn Zerfuss of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission added that the goal was to support a process that empowers states to adapt planning frameworks to their unique needs.
“These roadmaps reflect the best of that collaboration and offer a foundation for continued innovation in natural gas resource planning,” Zerfuss said.
The Task Force on Natural Gas Resource Planning was convened with support from the U.S. Department of Energy along with staff from the NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation and contracted consultants, The Brattle Group.
“The Task Force effort was a highly interactive, participatory effort involving commissioners, commission staff and subject-matter experts working closely together,” Commissioner Tammy Cordova of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission said. “We are pleased to share the finalproducts for the benefit of other state utility regulators and stakeholders.”