Aliso

California has finalized regulations for underground natural gas storage that take effect Oct. 1 aimed at public health and safety nearly three years after the four-month-long methane leak at Aliso Canyon, the state’s largest storage facility.

California regulators on Monday ordered Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) to increase the range of working gas volumes to 34 Bcf at the Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage facility in Southern California, the state’s largest.

Regulators in California on Monday moved to avoid natural gas supply problems this summer in two separate actions that include expanding volumes available for withdrawal at the heavily scrutinized Aliso Canyon underground storage facility.

Texas is facing a dicey summer when it comes to electricity generation because of power plant retirements, while California may be natural gas-constrained because of limits to the state’s largest storage facility, according to an assessment by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Inadequate natural gas supplies for electricity generation in Southern California again will hover over the region this summer and cast doubts about next winter, according to an assessment unveiled by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

Natural gas spot prices in the United States were up an average 21% last year compared with 2016, and a confluence of events helped drive prices in Southern California 18% higher as well, according to FERC.

The root cause of the largest methane leak in U.S. history that occurred in 2015 at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Southern California likely will not be known until late this year, according to the energy consulting firm conducting an independent investigation.

A green light was flashed for continued use of underground natural gas storage in California Thursday with the release of a two-year study by the nonprofit California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) that was mandated by state lawmakers in the wake of amassive methane leak from the state’s largest storage facility at Aliso Canyon.

Southern California air quality regulators have issued a violation notice against the Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage facility north of Los Angeles, alleging that a leak that lasted about 50 minutes last week at the 3,600-acre facility caused a public nuisance for nearby Porter Ranch residents.