News of the week

Record natural gas production leads to significant price drop in 2023

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports a 62% drop in average natural gas prices in 2023 compared to the previous year. The benchmark Henry Hub natural gas price averaged $2.57 per million British thermal units, with the monthly average consistently below $3.00/MMBtu, hitting a low of $2.19/MMBtu in May.

The key factors contributing to this price decline include record-high natural gas production, flat consumption, and increasing inventories. Warmer temperatures during the peak heating season led to reduced residential and commercial sector consumption, resulting in the lowest total U.S. natural gas consumption in seven years for those months. Despite a 3% overall increase in demand driven by higher exports and electricity generation, the surplus production and lower consumption in certain sectors have led to elevated natural gas inventories, reaching the highest levels since 2020.

To read more, click here.

MMUA changes dates for 2024 Legislative Conference

To avoid conflicts with other associations who recently announced their to be in St. Paul, and to maximize the opportunity for members to connect with their legislators, MMUA has decided to move the 2024 Legislative Conference back one week from what was previously announced.

The conference will now be held March 26-27 at the Double Tree by Hilton in downtown St. Paul. Registration for the event will open within the next two weeks; watch for an announcement in your email and in a future edition of The Digest. In the meantime, you are encouraged to book a room as part of the MMUA hotel block. Reservations can be made online using this link. The block closes on February 24.

For any questions, please reach out to Rita Kelly. We look forward to seeing you in St. Paul!

Reliability challenges of gas-fired power plants in extreme weather

Gas-fired power plants pose a "significant vulnerability" to the electric grid, according to a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Analyzing thermal generation failures during severe weather events, the study highlights that gas plants accounted for a disproportionate 63% and 56% of capacity failures during Winter Storm Elliott in 2022 and Winter Storm Uri in 2021, respectively.

The report calls for a reevaluation of reliance on gas due to its susceptibility to extreme weather. The study recommends grid operators adopt new approaches for assessing thermal resource contributions and regulators disclose more information about generator failures.

To read more, click here.

Free cybersecurity resources for small utilities

Cybersecurity company Dragos recently announced it is opening its Community Defense Program for free to utilities with under $100 million in annual revenue.

The program is designed to offer value for smaller organizations that don’t have the capacity to staff full-time cybersecurity teams to protect their operational control systems. Through the program, participants receive free access to resources including the Dragos Platform software as well as toolkits and working sessions with cybersecurity experts.

To learn more and to apply for the program, click here.

Looking ahead

Registration open for April cohort of Stepping Into Leadership

Registration is open for the new cohort of our popular leadership enrichment program, Stepping Into Leadership.

Stepping Into Leadership is designed for those who are new to a supervisory role as well as for current supervisors and leaders who wish to improve their leadership skills. Participants will have 56 hours of instruction delivered through a mix of in-person and virtual settings over a 14-month period.

The program is led by Dana Haagenson of M State and Steve Wischmann of Horizon Performance Solutions, LLC. Dana develops and delivers customized leadership sessions for organizations across various industries. Steve has extensive background in providing organizational and workforce development strategies. He is an expert in policy analysis and public management.

The course beginning April 24 will cover a myriad of developmental topics, such as building a personal leadership style, exploring effective communication, managing conflict, fortifying organizational leadership, and much more.

Click here for complete information.

MNOSHA offering free excavation seminar on January 16

The Minnesota Office of Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) is offering a free seminar covering excavation standards on Tuesday, January 16. Excavations can be dangerous, resulting in serious injuries and fatalities involving workers across the country. MNOSHA is committed to continuing its efforts to ensure employers and employees throughout Minnesota take safety precautions when working in or around excavations.

Attend this free MNOSHA Compliance Construction Seminar in person or virtually for a discussion about the OSHA excavation standard and how to comply. Fatality and serious injury statistics for federal fiscal year 2023 will also be discussed.

To learn more and register, click here.

As always, thank you for your association with MMUA and your commitment to delivering excellent service through locally owned utility assets in your community. Have a great week!

Christian Glanville

Marketing and Member Relations Manager

Direct: 763.746.0727 / Cell: 612.655.0598

Fax: 763.551.0459

cglanville@mmua.org | www.mmua.org

To download a copy of this email, click here.

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