13.0°

Better safe than sorry -- or maybe better chilly than frozen solid is more accurate, at least for Southcentral Alaska.

Six utility companies, including Homer Electric Association, met Wednesday in Anchorage to discuss a plan aimed at encouraging Railbelt residents to reduce power consumption during peak demand periods.

"The goal is to just make sure residents are aware that there is a potential for a natural gas shortage this winter," said HEA spokesperson Joe Gallagher in an interview Friday. The cooperative doesn't anticipate a gas deficiency, however, preparedness is essential.

"It's always better to be prepared than to be caught unprepared in the middle of winter," Gallagher said.

During times of reduced deliverability of natural gas, a three-tiered, color-coded advisory shows residents what steps can be taken to lessen the demand on the delivery system.

In the event of an inability to deliver gas, steps can be taken by utilities before consumer involvement is required. HEA, for example, can divert gas from ConocoPhillips' Liquid Natural Gas plant in Nikiski, increase hydro production at Bradley Lake, buy oil-generated power from Fairbanks and/or cease power sales to the Interior. This has successfully been done in the past without affecting residents, Gallagher said.

Should consumers need to get involved, it would be on a voluntary basis. The utility would ask residents to reduce their demand on electric and gas systems, such as lowering the temperature on the thermostat, decreasing the setting on the hot water heater, turning off unused electronics and lights or postponing washing laundry and dishes.

The most unlikely of occurrences would be the need for rolling blackouts, Gallagher said.

Should the need for this arise, intentional power outages would be shared by all Railbelt utility customers. Rolling blackouts would last between 20 and 30 minutes, Gallagher said.

"We don't anticipate that there's going to be a problem," said John Sims, Enstar spokesperson, on Friday. "But it's prudent to have an understanding of the potential problems."

The possible gas dilemma has to do with deliverability and the decreasing amount of natural gas in Cook Inlet.

"The Cook Inlet isn't as robust as it used to be," Sims said. "It's very clear that the deliverability in the Cook Inlet system is not what is used to be."

High demand and cold weather, too, play a major role.

A strong gas field provides pressure, which assists in maintaining deliverability, Sims said. As the amount of natural gas decreases in the inlet, pressure is lost, which makes the delivery process more difficult.

Infrastructure improvements will soon be required to mitigate the situation, Sims said. The fix won't be cheap, but it is necessary, he added.

According to Sims, natural gas being a limited resource put the state in its current predicament.

"This is a field that was once robust and we're starting to use those supplies up and they're dwindling down," he said. "It's a finite resource."

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.