Coordinated Action Needed to Ensure Northwest Energy Reliability

By: Camilo Amezquita, Vice President and General Manager, Williams Northwest Pipeline

Larry Bekkedahl, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Advanced Energy Delivery, Portland General Electric

Scott Kinney, Vice President Energy Resources and Integrated Planning, Avista Utilities

Kim Rush, President, NW Natural Gas

Published: June 3, 2025 - Clearing Up Download: Click here

The Pacific Northwest’s energy system is changing. Demand for electricity is growing, and electric utilities are feeling mounting pressure to add power resources to keep the grid reliable. At the same time, natural gas and electricity systems—both critical to regional reliability—are increasingly interdependent. As these changes accelerate, the region must take coordinated, realistic steps to ensure energy resource adequacy and system resilience.

The region is dangerously close to experiencing significant energy supply disruptions, which could lead to blackouts during peak demand events. Energy emergencies during extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and threatening reliability.

The multi-day cold snap in January 2024 is the most recent in a string of examples. Meeting peak demand during the cold snap required execution of emergency operations and procedures, careful coordination between natural gas and electricity providers, customer response to energy conservation requests and significant electricity imports from the Desert Southwest and the Rockies. The system held, but with limited margin. This winter, the region's electricity demand nearly reached an all-time peak. Multi-day cold snaps and rising peak demand are a threat to reliability.

Electricity demand in the Northwest is projected to grow by over 30% in the next decade. The Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee (PNUCC) estimates an increase of 7,800 average megawatts (aMW), equivalent to adding enough power to supply seven new cities the size of Seattle. Demand for power during the hottest and coldest times of the year is also rising. Utilities may need as much as 30 gigawatts (GW) of new nameplate capacity over the next 10 years to meet peak demand and move toward a cleaner energy future. Across the broader Western Interconnection, more than 170 gigawatts of new generation are planned. However, the pace and scale of resource deployment required is unprecedented.

Execution risk is real. The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) looks at risks to the power system throughout the Western Interconnection. WECC warns if demand grows as expected and industry experiences delays and cancellations in building added resources over the next decade, the West will face potentially severe resource adequacy challenges. According to WECC, only 53% of generation additions planned for 2023 were completed as

scheduled. If the resource build-out over the next 10 years mimics the last five years, by 2034, the West will have hundreds of hours each year when demand is at risk. Factors such as siting delays, interconnection queue congestion, supply chain issues, and financing challenges contribute to significant uncertainty.

Natural gas will continue to play a critical role in this transition. It remains the region’s second-largest source of electricity after hydropower and is essential for meeting winter peak demand. Both the gas and electricity systems are close to using the full capacity available. If either system fails during high demand, there could be energy shortages. These systems depend on each other more than ever and need to be planned more carefully together to reduce reliability risks.

Given this outlook, enhanced coordination between gas and electric systems is essential. Siloed planning increases risk and hinders the region’s ability to make informed, cost-effective investment decisions. Improving transparency, aligning planning horizons, and identifying shared infrastructure constraints will be key steps toward more resilient outcomes.

Policymakers, regulators, utilities, and infrastructure developers must work together to address both near-term and long-term reliability needs. This includes supporting critical investments in gas and electricity infrastructure. The region needs clear, consistent signals and collaborative frameworks to manage this transition effectively and affordably.

The path forward is complex but navigable. What’s needed now is coordinated action to ensure that the Northwest remains reliable as it moves toward a cleaner energy future.

About the co-authors: They comprise the steering committee that is leading an initiative through the Northwest Gas Association and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee to enhance coordination between the gas and electric sectors for energy reliability and resilience. For more information, contact Crystal Ball (crystal@pnucc.org) or Dan Kirschner(dkirschner@nwga.org). Reprinted with permission of NewsData Clearingup.