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Accelerating Pipeline Replacements Issues and Challenges Susan - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Accelerating Pipeline Replacements Issues and Challenges Susan - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Accelerating Pipeline Replacements Issues and Challenges Susan Fleck National Grid November 20, 2014 Our US Network 2 Our Natural Gas Customers Customers: We serve 3.5 million natural gas customers across three States (MA, NY &
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Our Natural Gas Customers
Customers: We serve 3.5 million natural gas customers across three States (MA, NY & RI), in both urban and suburban areas. We have added approximately 130,000 customers since 2010 and forecast to add an additional 260,000 customers in the next ten years. Infrastructure: Over the last five years, we invested a total of $1.5 billion dollars replacing mains and services that are made up of older, leak prone materials. Our spend in this area will increase by at least 60% to $2.4 billion dollars over the next five years.
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The Landscape
Nationally:
- Increasing public safety concerns
- Increasing public climate change interest and passion
- Increasing desire for energy efficiency
- Abundance of domestic natural gas supplies
In the Northeast:
- National Grid is the largest natural gas infrastructure company
- We have one of the oldest networks in the nation
- We have an opportunity to convert customers from oil to gas
And at National Grid:
- Public safety is our first priority
- We are committed to accelerating methane reduction
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National Grid - US
34,697 Miles
PHMSA Average LDC
888 Miles
PLASTIC 465 52% OTHER 1 0% PROT'D STEEL 352 40% UNPROT'D STEEL 46 5% CAST IRON 24 3% OTHER 16 0% CAST IRON 5692 16% UNPROT'D STEEL 5843 17% PROT'D STEEL 9116 26% PLASTIC 14030 41%
Main Inventory
US Comparative Summary
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CAST IRON * 64% ALL STEEL 34% PLASTIC 2%
Total M
- tal Main
ain In Inventor entory By By Ma Mater terial ial Total M
- tal Main
ain Leak Leak Repair epairs By By Ma Mater terial ial
Main Leak Repairs - MA
Leaks (including damages) 11,000 Miles
PROT'D STEEL 24% PLASTIC 41% CAST IRON 21% UNPROT'D STEEL 14%
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Historical & Future Capital Spend
Note: Includes proactive and reactive main/service replacements
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Infrastructure Replacement
In order to manage both public safety and emissions, a comprehensive program of timely repair and proactive replacements is employed. These efforts are coordinated by our TIMP and DIMP programs and merged with jurisdictional priorities to develop the five year capital plans for our mains and services assets. Additionally, we spend approximately $65 million annually on leak repairs, and expect this number to increase based on our projections of leak rates new regulatory requirements.
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Challenges
Expansive infrastructure replacement programs like National Grid’s come with challenges for all of our stakeholder groups.
Customer Community Regulatory Company
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Customer Challenges
Our customers face increasing rates resulting from our investments in pipeline and service replacement programs. They face disruption in service during change over to newer systems. They face inconveniences due to the physical construction work on- going in the communities where they live and work. They struggle to get current and accurate information about what the utilities are doing, and why they are doing it.
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Community Challenges
The communities where we operate distribution systems face challenges due to the large volume of work. They must coordinate permitting, police protection, and paving replacement projects with our replacement and/or repair work. They must respond to public complaints about noise, debris, detours, parking restrictions, and other inconveniences due to the heavy work.
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Example of Community Impact
City of Waltham MA Leak Prone Pipe
Red is Cast iron, Brown is Wrought Iron and Light Blue is Bare Steel.
Newer Pipe
Dark Blue Coated Steel and Yellow is Plastic.
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Example of Community Impact
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Example of Community Impact
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Regulatory Challenges
Rate regulators face the burden of additional rate cases for utilities to report and get recovery for the replacement programs. They need to balance and manage customer bill impacts. Safety regulators face increased activity in the work areas that needs to be monitored and reviewed for safety and compliance. They must respond to complaints about increasing field activity
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Company Challenges
Companies have to manage the risk of aging infrastructure during replacement programs; fixing or monitoring leaks as appropriate. They must develop more frequent rate filings to work with regulators on appropriate recovery programs. They must raise capital to fund the programs. They must recruit, hire, train, qualify, and retain additional workers; field workers, administrative support, engineers and management. They must acquire additional materials, equipment and vehicles. They must coordinate work permitting with cities and towns. They must manage increased complexity in distribution networks. They must communicate effectively to all stakeholders.
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