Natural gas leak leaves L.A. in lurch
Customers could face rolling blackouts as alternatives sought
By most accounts, the U.S. will have more than enough natural gas this summer to keep electric power plants running and buildings cooled, even on the hottest days, except possibly in one place: Los Angeles.
A leak at the massive Aliso Canyon gas-storage facility in the San Fernando Valley has left the Los Angeles Basin potentially short of fuel for its power plants when temperatures spike and demand for electricity for air-conditioning peaks.
The leak was plugged in February after its discovery during inspections in October. But its implications for reliable electricity in the second-largest city in the U.S. are still subject to ongoing study by Southern California Gas, which owns the storage facility, grid operators and state and federal officials.
“As long as Aliso Canyon’s storage fields remain out of service, there is an increased risk of natural gas curtailments which could lead to disruptions in electricity supply to the region,” staff for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrote in a May 19 report.
“With 86 billion cubic feet of capacity, Aliso Canyon is one of the largest natural gas storage sites in the U.S. and is the only field that can effectively support demand and pipeline pressure in the Los Angeles Basin because of pipeline limitations into the area,” the report said.
Moreover, FERC staff called Aliso Canyon “a critical summertime resource” for 17 large power plants in the Los Angeles Basin that represent about 10 gigawatts of capacity.
As of now, following the leak and recovery operations, an estimated 15 billion cubic feet of gas remains in Aliso Canyon, and Southern California Gas will not inject more into the field until its wells have undergone safety reviews by independent inspectors.
California officials calculate that with little or no supply from Aliso Canyon this summer, Los Angeles power plants face as many as 14 days without sufficient gas to meet all of their customers’ needs, resulting in possible rolling blackouts.
Given that situation, the state’s regulators and utility operators are working to identify potential alternative sources of gas and electricity and to promote steps to conserve energy.
Los Angeles’ energy dilemma comes as robust gas production and near-record storage assure more than enough electricity supplies for the U.S. as a whole.
That said, Aliso Canyon points to a larger lesson for the U.S. as it grows increasingly dependent on gas to generate electricity. With abundant resources from shale deposits, low prices and a reputation as the cleanest of fossil fuels, gas in 2016 is expected to overtake coal as a fuel for electric generation for the first time in the U.S., according to the Energy Information Administration.
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), a private non-profit that oversees reliability and safety in the U.S. electric utility industry, said substantial progress has been made in the last five years to improve coordination among gas pipelines, gas distribution companies and electric utilities. “Even so,” NERC said, “there are remaining concerns and opportunities to address on this subject.”