Economic Development Corporation of Utah (EDCUtah)’s Post

It’s an exciting moment for all of us - we are welcoming Dominion Energy Utah, Idaho and Wyoming to Enbridge, who will now do business locally as Enbridge Gas. In September 2023, Enbridge Inc. announced a plan to purchase three U.S.-based natural gas utilities, which collectively provide natural gas service to approximately three million customers in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, North Carolina and Ohio. Utah, Idaho and Wyoming have now joined us, so tomorrow is on! (Ohio joined us a few months back.) Along with Enbridge Gas in Ontario, we now serve 6.3 million customers collectively. “All of us are committed to providing the energy people need to live their lives now and in the future. We are excited about the future of natural gas in North America as a secure, reliable, and affordable energy choice to meet the needs of families, businesses, and industry today,” said Michele Harradence, president of Enbridge Gas Inc., which is based in Ontario. As part of this integration, we will be posting Utah, Wyoming and Idaho stories on this LinkedIn site. We will work hard to ensure LinkedIn readers learn about all of our utilities. We encourage employees in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming to follow us on LinkedIn, along with area residents who want to join us on this energy journey. If you are a customer of those utilities, we’d like to let you know that while the name has changed, the company will continue to offer you the same safe, reliable service you have come to expect. For now, there are no changes to customer rates, services, or how customers interact with us. Some changes will occur over time, such as the logo on our buildings, service vehicles and customer bills. We’ll be sure to provide plenty of advance notice and information about any planned changes. Information and updates can be found at dominionenergy.com/Utah. #WhatADay #Growing #NaturalGas #Utah #Wyoming #Idaho

Natural Gas. Snidley Whiplash or Dudley Do-Right? As we tick down the final days to Christmas, Reese Energy Consulting today is following a tale of two utilities and the roles natural gas plays. In the latest post-mortem of the failures on the Texas Electric Grid following 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, a new study has concluded ERCOT relies too much on natural gas to fuel its blackstart system. For the uninitiated, blackstart systems kick in to restore power in the event of outages without requiring electricity to do so. More than 60% of the nation’s grids employ gas-fired turbines in their systems. The study went on to recommend ERCOT add more non-fuel options and—wait for it—“test starting dual-fuel resources without any primary fuel.” This gives us Whiplash. Meanwhile in Mich., the state’s largest utility is focused on its natural gas delivery system. If you’ve ever visited Mich., in the dead of winter, the word “supernatural” aptly describes the season’s brutality. Consumer's Energy, which provides 6.7 million customers with power and gas, operates 28,170 miles of distribution pipeline, most of which date back to 1963. The company in 2012 launched a 25-year modernization project of its natural gas infrastructure to ensure gas keeps flowing uninterrupted. Announcing now another $1 billion annual investment in the program, a company spokesman remarked, “While exploration of other affordable, clean energy alternatives continues, natural gas remains the most cost-effective means of heating homes and businesses like Michigan.” We’re calling this one Do-Right. As Steve Reese likes to say, “Natural gas. Abundant. Ubiquitous. U.S. made. Clean. Affordable.” And yes, he stole that from the one and only Aubrey McClendon. What do you think? Learn more about REC and our natural gas expertise and consulting services at https://lnkd.in/ebXT2mS. #naturalgas #cleanenergy #reeseenergyconsulting

It’s an exciting day for all of us - Enbridge Gas Ohio has officially joined the Enbridge Inc. family of companies! In September 2023, Enbridge Inc. announced a plan to purchase three U.S.-based natural gas utilities, which collectively provide natural gas service to approximately three million customers in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, North Carolina and Ohio. Ohio is the first to join us, so tomorrow is on! “Joining the Enbridge family is an opportunity to leverage each company’s strengths to continue to deliver what’s important to our combined five million customers,” said Michele Harradence, president of Enbridge Gas Inc., which is based in Ontario. Enbridge Gas Ohio has served customers as a natural gas local distribution company for over 110 years, and now services 1.2 million customers. As part of this integration, we will be posting Enbridge Gas Ohio stories on this LinkedIn site. Our companies share solid values on safety, diversity and sustainability. We will work hard to ensure LinkedIn readers learn about both utilities, as we post interesting and important stories from Ontario and Ohio. We encourage Enbridge Gas Ohio employees to follow us on LinkedIn, along with Ohio residents who want to join us on this energy journey. If you are a customer of Enbridge Gas Ohio, we’d like to let you know that while the name has changed, the company will continue to offer you the same safe, reliable service you have come to expect. For now, there are no changes to customer rates, services, or how customers interact with Enbridge Gas Ohio. Some changes will occur over time, such as the logo on our buildings, service vehicles and customer bills. We’ll be sure to provide plenty of advance notice and information about any planned changes. For more information on this special day, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eXNnkfnF

Natural Gas. Snidley Whiplash or Dudley Do-Right? As we tick down the final days to Christmas, Reese Energy Consulting today is following a tale of two utilities and the roles natural gas plays. In the latest post-mortem of the failures on the Texas Electric Grid following 2021’s Winter Storm Uri, a new study has concluded ERCOT relies too much on natural gas to fuel its blackstart system. For the uninitiated, blackstart systems kick in to restore power in the event of outages without requiring electricity to do so. More than 60% of the nation’s grids employ gas-fired turbines in their systems. The study went on to recommend ERCOT add more non-fuel options and—wait for it—“test starting dual-fuel resources without any primary fuel.”  This gives us Whiplash. Meanwhile in Mich., the state’s largest utility is focused on its natural gas delivery system. If you’ve ever visited Mich., in the dead of winter, the word “supernatural” aptly describes the season’s brutality. Consumer’s Energy, which provides 6.7 million customers with power and gas, operates 28,170 miles of distribution pipeline, most of which date back to 1963. The company in 2012 launched a 25-year modernization project of its natural gas infrastructure to ensure gas keeps flowing uninterrupted. Announcing now another $1 billion annual investment in the program, a company spokesman remarked, “While exploration of other affordable, clean energy alternatives continues, natural gas remains the most cost-effective means of heating homes and businesses like Michigan.” We’re calling this one Do-Right. As Steve Reese likes to say, “Natural gas. Abundant. Ubiquitous. U.S. made. Clean. Affordable.” And yes, he stole that from the one and only Aubrey McClendon. What do you think? Learn more about REC and our natural gas expertise and consulting services at https://lnkd.in/ewhkGFa.        

Got my boots on the ground in Texas last week to learn more about one of our most important markets for Wärtsilä Energy 💡 So, what makes Texas such a hot market 🔥? 1️⃣ Rapid growth: Texas is experiencing an unprecedented increase in demand, driven by factors like booming population growth and low cost of business. 📈 However, the energy infrastructure hasn't quite kept pace with this explosive growth. 2️⃣ Market dynamics: The Texas energy market, ERCOT, operates on a unique "energy-only" model, coupled with scarcity pricing. This structure has led to a growth in renewables and storage solutions, making Texas a leader in wind energy and soon to be #1 in solar and batteries in the US! ☀️💨 3️⃣ Winter storm wake-up call: The 2021 Winter Storm Uri showed the vulnerabilities of the energy system during extreme weather. ❄️ To prepare for future challenges, Texas is rolling out bold reforms and incentives like low interest loans to expedite the financial attractiveness of flexible dispatchable projects that enhances grid reliability. All these factors mean that dispatchable energy resources, like Wärtsilä’s engine power plants, will be key to balance the intermittency of renewable energy and variations in weather. The winning technology will be the one that is most flexible and can react the fastest to changes in demand + is ready for the sustainable fuels of the future. During the week we had great workshops about how to best serve our customers in this growing market – thanks for the good discussions Risto Paldanius, Sanna Silander, Carl Dunaway, Karl Meeusen, Jon Rodriguez, PE, Jussi Heikkinen, Andreas Bücheler, Malin Östman. Also had the opportunity to participate in the ERCOT summit where our energy market guru (and fellow foodie geek 🤓🧑🍳) Karl Meeusen participated in an interesting panel discussion together with key players from the ERCOT energy market. Last but not least I got to spend some quality time with my team members Molly Wright and Ashley Keuss - it was lovely to see you both 🧡🧡 Thanks team Americas for your hospitality, the great insights I gained and the “Don’t Mess With Texas” mug 🤠 #WärtsiläEnergy #Energytransition

My post today for Steve Reese and Reese Energy Consulting. Breaking News from DUG GAS+ We interrupt this post to bring you the latest news from Reese Energy Consulting’s Rick O’Bannon and Kimberly Page direct from Booth #300 inside the Shreveport Convention Center at the DUG GAS+ Conference and Expo. Our sources tell us Rick and Kimberly are fervently engaged with like-minded natural gas folks eager to share their company strategies going forward in the current price environment—so that might explain the absence of photos today. We can only presume their convos will extend to producer challenges and how REC lands premium markets for gas supplies. Then, of course, there’s our auditing services to identify and recover lost revenues, our successes in every natural gas basin, including the Haynesville, and how we find top-tier opportunities for both producers and midstreamers. If you happen to find yourself at DUG GAS+ and Booth #300 today through Thursday, please shoot us a photo and let us know you guys were there. Meanwhile, learn more about REC and our natural gas consulting expertise at https://lnkd.in/eAebAz8. (For all you youngins, the image below was known as a Test Pattern, which at one time appeared on TV screens when programming was suddenly interrupted or about to sign off for the night.) Rock on.      

Don’t get lazy people… The heat wave is on and natural gas prices have woken up… Don’t say I didn’t warn you —- no I’m not quoting a Taylor Swift song 🤣 Take this weekend to think about how a do nothing approach will solve all the energy budget issues that will result from what is shaping to be the start of a bull run in natural gas and power prices across the country. We at Albireo Energy are executing smart strategies today even for natural gas customers in New England while the other “energy procurement companies” are not doing anything with natural gas because they don’t know how to analyze anything but 1 product type. The reality is they dont have the 20 years of experience serving the New England natural gas customer and proving the results year after year. Let’s get you setup for success while the pickings are still good. #naturalgas #commodities #heat

Some welcome news today for WNY natural gas customers: National Fuel predicts heating costs are expected to drop significantly this winter - by as much as 30% - compared to last year. “It’s quite a different set of circumstances than last year,” said Gary Marchiori, the president of EnergyMark, a Williamsville energy services company. “It’s absolutely less expensive than last year to heat your home.” The biggest difference is in the cost of natural gas itself, as well as a healthy supply in storage. The amount of natural gas in storage in the eastern U.S. is almost 15% higher than it was a year ago, and it’s almost 6% above the five-year average for this time of year, the federal energy agency said. “There are excellent supply sources,” Marchiori said. “We’re ahead of the game in storage.” Read more below ⬇

In the words of Bob Dylan "For the times they are a-changin'"... The #energy⚡️industry faces an uphill 🏔️ battle. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's report says it all, "The Era of Flat Power Demand is Over." In that report FERC predicts the nationwide electricity demand to grow 4.7% over the next five years, which is up ⬆️ from the 2.7% predicted last year. In my opinion this is still a conservative estimate but very large regardless. While there are many driving factors for this load growth like #datacenters 🏢, #industrialdevelopment 🏭, #hydrogenproduction, and #electrification 🔌, the fact still remains that we will need as much cooperation as possible between all areas of the #energyindustry. As I look back on this year, I am confident that the industry has what it takes to provide our future generations with the vital energy they need. I want to thank the #utilities and #engineeringfirms I collaborated with this year and I look forward to a strong 💪 2024. Florida Power & Light, TECO Energy, American Electric Power, Southern Company, Georgia Power Company, Alabama Power Company, Mississippi Power, Arizona Public Service - APS, Salt River Project, Avista, Bonneville Power Administration, Atlantic City Electric, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, CenterPoint Energy, Tucson Electric Power, Xcel Energy, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, NorthWestern Energy, National Grid, LG&E and KU Energy LLC, FirstEnergy, Evergy, Exelon, Duke Energy Corporation, ComEd, Dominion Energy, Delmarva Power, OGE Energy Corp., Oncor Electric Delivery, Southern California Edison (SCE), Burns & McDonnell, POWER Engineers, Black & Veatch and the many others I may have missed!

Texas has a unique energy landscape. While it’s known for vast energy resources, it's also no stranger to increasing energy demand given extreme heat and population growth. The key to grid resilience in such a dynamic environment? Greater reliability with solutions like utility-scale energy storage.    This summer, Enel North America has added five new battery energy storage systems to strengthen the Texas grid — making it more resilient, reliable, and clean.    What that looks like in action: During scorching summer afternoons or when the demand is high, our batteries can store electricity that then discharged to the grid within seconds to help prevent blackouts, supporting reliability, even in the most challenging conditions.   Huge thanks to our storage teams at Blue Jay, Roseland, High Lonesome, Roadrunner and Azure Sky Wind for getting these batteries online when Texas needed them most. For more details: https://lnkd.in/e9ubqYpc #WeAreEnel #EnergyStorage