Blogs

APGA Speaks at Carolinas Public Gas Association Annual Meeting

By Erin Kurilla posted 2 days ago
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The Carolinas Public Gas Association (CPGA) met in Myrtle Beach, S.C., September 15-18. Erin Kurilla, APGA Vice President of Operations & Safety, presented to attendees on APGA policy positions and member programs. She briefed members on the proposed contents of the Pipeline Safety Reauthorization, the justification for some of the proposals, and the path forward to finalize the legislation. She also introduced APGA’s new Mutual Aid Program, recognized CPGA members that have received System Operational Achievement Recognition (SOAR) awards, and discussed APGA’s positions on Public Awareness requirements. CPGA members also heard presentations on Liquified ...
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EIA Reports Storage Increase of 84 Bcf to Put Working Gas Storage at 3,103 Bcf

By Audrey Casey posted 2 days ago
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Here is the weekly EIA Summary Report issued on Thursday, September 19, which reports the week’s storage report highlights for Friday, September 13. An 84 Bcf increase has been reported. Working gas in storage was 3,103 Bcf as of Friday, September 13, 2019, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 84 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 393 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 75 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,178 Bcf. At 3,103 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
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APGA Submits Letter to House Committee on Building Energy Efficiency

By Stuart Saulters posted 2 days ago
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On September 20, the Subcommittee on Energy of the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on “Building a 100 Percent Clean Economy: Solutions for the US Building Sector.” APGA submitted a letter to the Chairman and Ranking Member of this subcommittee providing what would be a good policy with regards to managing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from America’s residential and commercial buildings. In addition, the valuable innovations in this sector, such as gas-fired heat pumps, combined heat and power (CHP), and natural gas commercial food service equipment (ranges and fryers) was highlighted. As well, the concern with the current version of Section ...
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2019 ICC Voter Sign Up Ongoing

By Stuart Saulters posted 2 days ago
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Over the last several years, APGA staff has stressed the importance of becoming involved in the International Code Council (ICC) code development process. Public utilities have the distinct privilege of having individual votes as governmental members. In 2019, the ICC will be amending the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) and the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). As a reminder, the ICC is the main source of standards for the residential construction segment and they impact how, where and when natural gas can be used in a home or business. An overwhelming majority of state and local jurisdictions already use some version of the Code Council’s ...
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Senate Appropriations Releases Fiscal Year 2020 LIHEAP Funding Amount

By Michael Brady posted 2 days ago
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On September 18, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), Education released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Labor-HHS-Education bill. This bill includes funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP is a federal block grant program that provides money to low-income individuals/families to help them meet their heating and cooling needs and requires an annual appropriation from Congress. The funding level approved by the Senate Appropriations for FY 2020 is $3.69 billion, which is the same level as FY 2019. Earlier this summer, the House approved a funding level of $3.84 billion representing a $150 ...
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Consumer Energy Alliance Presents Webinar to APGA Members

By Dave Schryver posted 2 days ago
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On September 17, the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) held a webinar for APGA members addressing challenges to energy development and production. CEA is a U.S. consumer advocate group that has pushed for affordable, reliable energy for working families, seniors, and businesses across the country. CEA has more than 550,000 individual members all across the United States, representing every sector of the U.S. economy. APGA has been a member of CEA for several years and, most recently, David Holt, CEA’s President, spoke at APGA’s 2019 Annual Conference. In the webinar, CEA discussed some of the attacks and challenges energy production and development is facing in ...
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EIA Reports Storage Increase of 78 Bcf to Put Working Gas Storage at 3,019 Bcf

By Audrey Casey posted 9 days ago
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Here is the weekly EIA Summary Report issued on Thursday, September 12, which reports the week’s storage report highlights for Friday, September 6. A 78 Bcf increase has been reported. Working gas in storage was 3,019 Bcf as of Friday, September 6, 2019, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 78 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 393 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 77 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,096 Bcf. At 3,019 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
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Join the APGA Mutual Aid Program

By Erin Kurilla posted 9 days ago
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When preparing for extreme weather events such as the recent Hurricane Dorian, it is a good time for utilities to review their emergency plans and mutual aid agreements. APGA recently launched its own Mutual Aid Program to connect natural gas systems on the national level in the event of a disaster or emergency situation, in case your utility needs resources beyond your state or regional aid programs. It is simple to sign up! To participate, a utility must designate a point of contact to sign the Mutual Aid Agreement form and return to APGA. Once signed, this will induct your system into the program. In the event of an emergency, a utility can call for aid ...
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APGA Presents at NAPSR National Meeting

By Erin Kurilla posted 9 days ago
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The National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) is the national association representing state pipeline safety personnel. Through a unique partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation, NAPSR members have oversight responsibilities for the safe and reliable transportation of natural gas and hazardous liquids through pipelines. The theme of this year’s meeting was innovation and how innovation can impact pipeline safety. Bert Kalisch, Erin Kurilla, and Todd Brady represented APGA, the APGA Security & Integrity Foundation (SIF) and the APGA Research Foundation (RF) at the NAPSR National Meeting from September 9 to 11 in Portland, ...
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Public Awareness: An Opportunity to Impact the Requirements

By Erin Kurilla posted 9 days ago
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Public Awareness programs are required by regulation and the American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 1162: Public Awareness Programs provides the details on those requirements. API RP 1162 prescribes the stakeholder groups that are to be contacted, the pipeline safety messages that are to be delivered and the frequency that those messages are shared. One stakeholder group is the “affected public.” The API RP 1162 working group has launched a webpage to gather input from the affected public on the successes public awareness programs have had to date and where there still may be deficiencies. The website provides an opportunity to provide ...
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APGA Responds to Cities Considering Potential Action to Ban Natural Gas in New Construction

By Dave Schryver posted 9 days ago
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In July, the City of Berkeley, Calif., voted to ban the use of natural gas in newly constructed homes and buildings beginning in 2020. APGA sent out a press statement expressing disappointment regarding the action taken by Berkeley. Since that time, news reports have indicated that several other cities, including San Jose and Seattle, are considering taking similar action within their city councils. In response to this, APGA sent out the following statement to the press: “We are saddened and disappointed that several city councils are considering action to ban the use of natural gas in newly constructed homes and buildings beginning in 2020. Unfortunately, across ...
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Nominations Open for the Public Gas Policy Council

By Dave Schryver posted 9 days ago
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APGA invites its members to nominate their officials to the APGA Public Gas Policy Council (PGPC). The PGPC is made up of locally elected and appointed officials from public natural gas communities. The PGPC meets annually in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the APGA Spring Board and Committee Meetings. The 2020 meeting is scheduled for May 5 and 6. During this time, the PGPC will meet with key members of Congress and the executive branch. The 2019 meeting included a reception in the Senate and over 40 meetings between APGA members and congressional offices. The primary purpose of the PGPC is to assist APGA in moving legislation forward that is important ...
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APGA Speaks at Mid-Continent LDC Forum

By Dave Schryver posted 9 days ago
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On September 11, APGA’s Executive Vice President, Dave Schryver, served as the Keynote Speaker at the Mid-Continent LDC Gas Forum held in Chicago. The LDC Gas Forum is held regionally to bring people together from the natural gas industry to discuss vital regional and national issues affecting all aspects of the natural gas marketplace. The event is held annually and is very well attended by APGA members and other representatives from the natural gas industry. In his presentation, Dave provided an overview of the 116th Congress and discussed the challenges the direct use of natural gas is facing at the federal, state and local level. Dave also provided an overview ...
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APGA Submits Comments to EERE on Data for Process Rule

By Stuart Saulters posted 9 days ago
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On September 9, APGA submitted comments in response to a Department of Energy (DOE) proposed interpretive rule. The reasoning for DOE even requesting this input was due to a petition from APGA and other gas industry stakeholders last June. That petition asked for legal interpretation whether the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) does or does not authorize the adoption of efficiency standards that would limit the appliance market. In the Federal Register notice announcing the interpretive rule, DOE “partially grants the petition by issuing an interpretation that non-condensing operation is a product feature and that no DOE rulemaking may prescribe a standard ...
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APGA Submits Comments in California Building Decarbonization Proceeding

By Stuart Saulters posted 9 days ago
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On September 10, APGA submitted comments to the California Energy Commission (CEC) responding to a public meeting they had on August 27. The feedback, which was based on input from the Direct Use Task Group (DUTG), detailed APGA members’ desire to be environmental stewards, but not to do so sacrificing affordability and reliability of California’s energy system. By forcing consumers to fuel-switch to a single end-use technology—that is, electricity—rather than focusing on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction, policymakers threaten energy affordability and grid reliability. The comments iterated that natural gas, renewable natural gas, and the existing pipeline ...
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Consumer Energy Alliance to Present Webinar to APGA Members

By Dave Schryver posted 16 days ago
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The Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) will present a webinar to APGA members on September 17 at 2:00 PM ET. CEA is a U.S. consumer advocate group that has pushed for affordable, reliable energy for working families, seniors, and businesses across the country. CEA has more than 550,000 individual members across the United States, representing every sector of the U.S. economy. APGA has been a member of CEA for several years; and, most recently, David Holt, CEA’s President, spoke at APGA’s 2019 Annual Conference. In the webinar, CEA will discuss some of the attacks and challenges for energy production and development in the U.S. This webinar will also focus on challenges ...
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Bill DeFoor Featured on Industry Podcast

By Erin Kurilla posted 16 days ago
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The Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia’s (MGAG) Bill DeFoor was featured on the September 3 edition of the Pipeliners Podcast. This podcast “brings together industry leading expertise and insightful guests in each episode in a conversational setting.” Bill’s episode focuses on all things Public Awareness. In addition, Bill had an opportunity to inform listeners about the unique services that MGAG provides their members. In the interview style podcast, Bill was able to: educate listeners on the history of pipeline Public Awareness (at 5:00); discuss the intricacies of compliance with the regulatory requirements (at 13:00); highlight the push towards a more collaborative ...
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EIA Reports Storage Increase of 84 Bcf to Put Working Gas Storage at 2,941 Bcf

By Audrey Casey posted 16 days ago
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Here is the weekly EIA Summary Report issued on Thursday, September 5, which reports the week’s storage report highlights for Friday, August 30. An 84 Bcf increase has been reported. Working gas in storage was 2,941 Bcf as of Friday, August 30, 2019, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net increase of 84 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 383 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 82 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,023 Bcf. At 2,941 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
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APGA Submits Comments to EERE on Data for Process Rule

By Stuart Saulters posted 16 days ago
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On August 30, APGA submitted comments to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on a request they issued regarding data to be used in setting energy conservation standards for consumer product and commercial and industrial equipment. EERE was hoping to get stakeholder input on what data should be used in carrying out the Process Rule. Unfortunately, the office believes site energy should be used exclusively for prescribing energy conservation standards, based on their interpretation of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA). APGA pushed back on this assertion providing that site energy does not ...
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APGA Joins in Comments on Renewable Fuels Standard

By Stuart Saulters posted 16 days ago
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Following support during the 2019 Annual Meeting from the APGA Board of Directors with their approval of a resolution on Renewable Natural Gas (RNG), APGA signed on to comments with several other trade associations urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to modify the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to allow for more use of RNG as a vehicle fuel. The main argument was to increase the 2020 minimum applicable volume for cellulosic biofuel compared to 2019. The RNG industry continues to grow. Americans are recognizing the opportunity this energy source has to power our nation’s cars and trucks, so the RFS should accommodate the use of RNG. Given this new ...
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