Washington, D.C. – The American Gas Association (AGA) commends the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) for adopting two resolutions at their 124th Annual Meeting in Baltimore, MD that recognize the role natural gas can play in moving our nation forward by eliminating regulatory barriers to utilizing this clean energy source in more affordable and efficient ways.
“The development and deployment of both CHP technologies and alternative fuel vehicles are critically important to providing consumers with the best energy value now and into the future,” said Kyle Rogers, AGA’s Vice President of Government Relations. “America’s natural gas utilities work with regulators on the local and national level to achieve our shared goals of boosting our economy, improving our environment and increasing our energy security. We commend them on their continued commitment to this effort.”
In adopting a resolution in support of the deployment of combined heat and power (CHP), the NARUC board encourages state public service commissions to work with stakeholders and other agencies to support cost effective investment in CHP opportunities, explore educational opportunities and forums on CHP, and evaluate regulatory mechanisms and consider and identify ways to best deploy cost effective CHP technologies. The resolution notes that CHP provides an opportunity improve the competitiveness of United States manufacturing, lower energy costs, free up future capital for businesses to invest, reduce air pollution and create jobs.
CHP, which generates electricity and captures useful heat simultaneously, is among the most efficient heat and power generating systems available. Over 70 percent of CHP installations use natural gas.
NARUC also adopted a resolution focused on expanding the alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) market, which urges state and federal regulators to collaborate with other policymakers to remove barriers to AFV deployment, and ensure consistent, fuel-neutral policies to help realize the full economic, environmental and societal benefits of AFVs.
The resolution supports the continued development of utility company programs and policies that advance the AFV market including the installation of advanced metering technologies and control systems, designing innovative rates and incentives, and assessing transmission and distribution systems to minimize any potential risk to reliability and maximize consumer savings.