American Gas - February 2013 - (Page 25)

Infrastructure The industry will need to make investments in transmission and storage capacity—for example, to upgrade pipeline, move supply out of the Mid-Atlantic, and ensure that gas-fired power plants remain reliable. In response, regulatory entities such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission may act to streamline permitting processes. Similar initiatives will promote pipeline safety. “The Office of Management and Budget has been encouraging agencies to make permitting easier,” Lacey explains. “This is in response to a 2011 executive order from President Obama to streamline permits for infrastructure that moves people, goods, and energy.” Likewise, the Government Accountability Office will submit to Congress a report on how to improve pipeline safety permits, as required by the Pipeline Safety and Regulatory Certainty Act of 2011. AGA is contributing to that report, which should become available in February. Tax-Credit Extensions Finally, several tax-credit extensions that were part of the fiscal cliff deal will affect the industry. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extends tax credits for high-efficiency natural gas furnaces and water heaters, refueling infrastructure for natural gas vehicles, and natural gas sold as transportation fuel. The credits are extended through 2013 and retroactively to Jan. 1, 2012. Ultimately, 2013 probably won’t be a groundbreaking year for energy legislation. But policies, rules, and regulations will evolve on numerous fronts that will affect all aspects of the natural gas industry. And if the past five years are any indication, natural gas will be on the front burner at the federal, state, and local levels, here at home and around the world. u 6 People to Watch in 2013 pat arn ow authorities will never be built, especially the greenfield projects,” he says. “I doubt that more than four or five projects will move forward.” Andrew Cuomo, Democratic governor of New York. Cuomo will be key to the decision about whether New York will allow hydraulic fracturing. The decision was expected last year but was delayed for further study on the impacts on the environment and public health. State regulators are now expected to complete their review of the practice and propose regulations by the end of February. Mary Fallin, Republican governor of Oklahoma, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, started a 22-state coalition that intends to buy as many as 10,000 CNG vehicles annually to replace their aging fleets. In October, the pair announced the results of a multistate solicitation designed to encourage automakers to develop more CNG vehicles. “We believe this is the start of a national movement to add much-needed fuel diversity to our nation’s transportation sector while at the same time creating jobs and helping to grow local economies,” Hickenlooper said. Added Fallin: “We asked auto manufacturers to develop products that were more affordable and functional. With the combined purchasing power of our 22 states, we successfully provided the incentive to do so. States will now have the incentive and ability to begin converting their fleets to CNG while saving millions of dollars in taxpayer money.” Even before he graduated from Stanford University in 2011, Teryn Norris was a powerful voice for energy innovation. Currently a special assistant in the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, specializing in public engagement, Norris founded the nonprofit Americans for Energy Leadership in 2009, which worked to advance support for clean energy technology and encourage young people toward careers in public policy. (That organization merged with the Pew Charitable Trusts Clean Energy Program in 2012.) He was also senior advisor and project director at the Breakthrough Institute, a public policy think tank. Brandy Brazell Obvintsev, president and CEO of Energy People Connect, the energy industry’s first wholly integrated social network and Web 2.0 consultancy. With members in more than 60 countries, Energy People Connect’s global community allows industry professionals to share best practices and experiences. A veteran energy communications professional, the Houston-based Obvintsev has served on the development committee of the UN’s International Year of Planet Earth and as the Energy Chair for the American Marketing Association, Houston Chapter, and is an active member of the Greater Houston Partnership. Imagine a technology that decreases the amount of energy required to compress and transport natural gas. Pedro Santos not only imagined it, he invented it—and founded OsComp Systems to bring his revolutionary idea to fruition. Santos, 28, believes the product has real potential—and so do industry experts and venture capitalists, which have already gotten behind the company. He told NBC Latino last year, “If this works, this is one of the first major changes to the industry in the last 50 or 100 years.” —Sue Khodarahmi february 2013 American Gas 25

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - February 2013

American Gas - February 2013
Table of Contents
President’s Message
Subject Index
Supplanting Coal, Creating Jobs
Digest
Issues
Updates
Need to Know
By the Numbers
People and Places
Fill ‘er Up—in the Driveway
Europe
State House
City Hall
Wall Street
Elm Street
On the Docket
Profile: Philip B. Jones
Law
Jobs
Buyer’s Guide: Meters
Marketplace
Headway

American Gas - February 2013