Concept

The concept of a national highway for natural gas-fueled long-haul trucks received some roadside assistance Thursday when Shell Oil Co. and major truck stop operator TravelCenters of America LLC (TA) announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for Shell to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the fueling station operator for sale to heavy-duty truck operators.

As the natural gas landscape continues to be transformed and renewables emerge on a parallel path, gas industry stakeholders are increasingly focused on the concept of a “smarter,” more flexible gas delivery system along the lines of the electric industry smart grid. Eventually the two need to coalesce, according to a Gas Technology Institute (GTI) technical expert focused on the subject.

As the natural gas landscape continues to be transformed by booming shale production and renewables emerge on a parallel path, gas industry stakeholders are increasingly focused on the concept of a “smarter,” more flexible gas delivery system along the lines of the electric industry smart grid. Eventually the two need to coalesce, according to a Gas Technology Institute (GTI) technical expert focused on the subject.

At a time when the concept of natural gas as a transportation fuel is getting newfound backing in the nation’s capital and in various states, there was generally positive reaction to the recent move by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make it easier to certify compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion systems.

Gas-on-gas competition is a concept long established in the industry. How about shale-on-shale competition?

“The concept of an energy day is at hand,” FERC Chairman Pat Wood told the annual meeting of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) last Tuesday, charging the group with developing a standardized “day” to enable the natural gas and electric systems to work well together.

“The concept of an energy day is at hand,” FERC Chairman Pat Wood told the annual meeting of the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) Tuesday, charging the group with developing a standardized “day” to enable the natural gas and electric systems to work well together.

The Committee of Chief Risk Officers (CCRO) said it fully supports the concept of a “safe harbor” that would legally protect energy companies who make unintentional, “non-criminal errors” when reporting prices on natural gas and power trades to publishers of price indexes, noting it would pave the way for greater industry participation in the indexes.

Have natural gas choice programs taken hold and producedsavings, or is the five-year old concept of offering people achoice of gas suppliers missing its mark?