The president and CEO of Eversource Energy, Joe Nolan, has written a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden asking for the administration’s help to prevent a natural gas shortfall this winter.
While Eversource has invested in renewable energy sources, including offshore wind and hydropower, they will not bring power to the grid for several years, according to his letter, dated Oct. 27.
New England’s power grid relies on an adequate supply of natural gas to meet the region’s generation needs.
“As both an energy company CEO and a lifelong New Englander, I am deeply concerned about the potentially severe impact a winter energy shortfall would have on the people and businesses of this region,” Nolan wrote.
ISO-New England, which operates the region’s power grid, has warned of the possibility of rolling blackouts this winter, saying the region will not have sufficient natural gas to meet power supply needs for the region in the event of a severe cold spell.
New England relies heavily on imports of liquefied natural gas because the pipelines cannot fully supply heating demand or provide enough fuel to power gas generators  during the winter, Nolan said. In addition, the war in Ukraine has reduced shipments of foreign natural gas, causing further stress on markets.
“To the extent New England power generators are forced to increase their reliance on foreign-sourcedÂ
natural gas – if that is even possible – it will exacerbate well-documented shortages in Europe,” he wrote. “More fundamentally, from a national security perspective, it will put upward pressure on prices in the international market for natural gas.”
Nolan asked Biden to use the federal government’s emergency powers to provide relief. He suggested the federal government could issue a waiver of the Jones Act, which requires goods shipped from one U.S. port to another be transported on ships that are built, owned, and operated by U.S. entities. He also suggested making it easier for power plants to operate on either natural gas or fuel oil this winter.
