Congressman Sherman Calls for Energy Reliability Plan
Urges contingencies in wake of gas leak
Sherman Oaks – Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) wrote to the California Public Utilities Commission and California’s Independent System Operator calling for energy reliability in the Los Angeles Basin after the major gas leak at the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon storage facility.
“The L.A. Basin relies heavily on the natural gas in Aliso Canyon for electricity, particularly in the summer months,” said Congressman Sherman. “Because of this leak, it is unlikely this facility will be able to play a similar role in the coming year. I am urging state officials and experts to undertake all steps and use the authority granted by the Governor’s Declaration of a State of Emergency to make sure that we do not face a choice between unsafe storage in Aliso Canyon on one hand, and a lack of electricity or reliability during the summer months on the other.”
Read the full letter below:
January 20, 2016
Mr. Stephen Berberich
President and Chief Executive Officer
California Independent System Operator
P.O. Box 639014
Folsom, CA 95763-9014
Mr. Michael Picker
President
California Public Utilities Commission
505 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 9410
Re: Electricity Reliability After Aliso Canyon Gas Leak
Dear Sirs:
As you know, much of the electricity used in the Los Angeles Basin is generated by natural gas and we would expect substantial electric demand during the coming summer months. I write out of concern for power reliability for the Los Angeles Basin as a result of the Aliso Canyon gas leak.
The Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility has in prior years played a critical role in ensuring that natural gas is available for electricity generation. It is unlikely that Aliso Canyon can play a similar role this coming summer, and it is important that we not engage in unsafe storage of natural gas at that facility.
Time is short. We are limited in the number of planning steps that can actually be implemented prior to the summer 2016. Still, I urge you to undertake all steps and use the authority granted by the Governor’s Declaration of a State of Emergency to make sure that we do not face a choice between unsafe storage in Aliso Canyon on one hand, and a lack of electricity or reliability during the summer months on the other.
Among the many things that you might look at are the following: correct bottlenecks and otherwise modernize electrical transmissions systems so that the Los Angeles Basin can most effectively import electricity: sweep away regulatory and red tape bottlenecks that would prevents such electric transmission; address bottlenecks that might occur in the importation of natural gas to Southern California electric generation facilities; and determine whether any electric generation facilities could be modified to burn oil or other fuel rather than natural gas without undue environmental degradation.
The preceding paragraph lists several ideas some of which are mine, and some of which were brought to my attention by constituents and by those experts who briefed me on the situation. At this point, I cannot advocate for any of the alternatives set forth above, but I believe that you have the expertise to evaluate these and other ideas to make sure that the Aliso Canyon disaster does not have an adverse impact on electric reliability this summer.
In the event that federal permits or any other federal action is necessary to implement any reasonable plan designed to deal with electric reliability, or any other aspect of the Aliso Canyon disaster, please let me know so that I can encourage federal agencies to take appropriate action on an expedited basis.
Sincerely,
Brad Sherman
Member of Congress
cc: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission