Why Gas and Electricity Need Each Other
When temperatures plunge across the Pacific Northwest, people count on their homes to stay warm, businesses to stay open, and lights to stay on. Delivering that confidence requires natural gas and electricity to work together. The Northwest Gas Association’s 2026 Pacific Northwest Gas Market Outlook makes this connection clear: our region increasingly depends on a single interconnected energy system, with shared demands, constraints, and responsibilities.
One system, two roles
Across British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, coal plants are closing, electrification is growing, renewables are expanding, and electricity demand is rising. In this system, natural gas serves two main roles:
Direct service: Gas heats over 3.6 million homes and 350,000 businesses. This meets winter demand that the electric grid cannot currently handle. If heating switches to electricity, the demand does not go away—it just shifts to the grid.
Power generation: Gas-fired plants provide flexible power when demand rises or when wind and solar produce less.
Reliability means the right amount of energy is available when customers need it most. Electricity supply and demand must always be in balance; an annual energy surplus cannot cover a shortage on a freezing evening. Likewise, installed generating capacity measured under specified conditions does not establish how much power will remain available throughout a prolonged winter emergency. Physics, not policy, are what drive the energy system that people count on.
The January 2024 cold snap illustrated that challenge. NWGA’S Outlook study describes an energy system operating under extraordinary pressure, requiring close coordination among providers. Its lessons extends beyond any single storm: extreme weather can increase heating demand while simultaneously limiting energy supply. Planning must account for those overlapping stresses and the possibility that neighboring regions will also need their available resources.
Meeting a prolonged shortage requires resources that can sustain service, not just installed capacity. Wind and solar provide valuable electricity and support emissions reductions, but weather can limit their output. Storage, hydropower, demand flexibility, efficiency and dispatchable generation each have roles; planners must evaluate the combination against the duration and severity of potential shortages.
Delivery is the constraint
In the last five winters, interstate pipelines were used at over 90 percent capacity from December to February. This leaves little space for outages or extra demand. Having plenty of gas reserves does not help if the gas cannot get to customers.
The path forward
The NWGA and the Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee Gas-Electric Coordination Initiative bring providers together to improve communication and planning. For policymakers, the main question is: Does a proposal consider both systems and improve performance during the toughest winter conditions? New resources and infrastructure must be ready before old ones are retired. Decisions should be based on real-world operations, clear assumptions, and total system costs.
By planning gas and electricity together, the Pacific Northwest can improve reliability, keep costs down, and lower emissions all at once.
The Outlook suggests a coordinated approach that improves reliability, affordability, and emissions reduction together. Natural gas and electricity will continue to serve different needs, but their futures are more closely connected than ever. Understanding this relationship now will help the Pacific Northwest build an energy system that can support its people and economy during the toughest times ahead.
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