Utilities on Alert Ahead of Alberta Clipper

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Written by Daniel Graeber for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Much of the nation's utilities may be on high alert starting Wednesday as an Alberta Clipper system triggered winter storm warnings and wind advisories from the Dakotas to the Carolinas.

Blustery conditions were apparent Wednesday in Bismark, North Dakota, where wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour were expected to drive the wind chill factor into the single digits. Similar advisories are in place for South Carolina, and there are even freeze warnings for parts of northern Florida.

An Alberta Clipper, so named for its origin in the Canadian oil patch, is expected to bring cold Arctic air and snowfall from the Northern Plains, Corn Belt, and into the eastern United States through the weekend.

It's the Great Lakes and into New England that should get hit the worst. The northern peninsula and much of the western half of Michigan are under winter storm warnings, with high winds and as much as a foot of snow expected. Fans during the weekend volunteered to clear the snow from Highmark Stadium ahead of the Buffalo Bills football game, and the region is bracing for another round of heavy snow and bitter cold.

The first major winter storm system of the season is sure to test not only driver patience given the potential for white-out conditions, but the nation's grid as well.

In November, the North American Energy Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned that Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states could face power issues this winter season due in part to natural gas availability.

"Winter brings unique challenges for the electric industry, and this year, growing demand and increased reliance on natural gas add new layers of risk," said John Moura, the director of reliability assessments at NERC.

NERC warned that gas wells can freeze in extreme cold and disrupt pipeline deliveries. A winter storm dubbed Elliot in 2022 threatened to freeze nearly 3 million barrels per day (BBL/d) in refining capacity along the Gulf Coast, while colder winters in general can lead to issues with wind turbines. More than 25% of the power outages from Elliot were caused by fuel issues, NERC found.

In November, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the data arm of the U.S. Energy Department, reported working gas storage levels were on the decline, but were higher than this time last year and higher than the five-year average.

Elsewhere, data show propane inventories are somewhat suppressed, but still above the five-year average for this time of year. Distillate fuel inventories, meanwhile, increased short-term, but are 5% below the five-year range.

Broader markets had yet to react to the impending storm. After climbing some 13% in November, the price for Henry Hub, the U.S. benchmark for the price of natural gas, was holding steady in pre-market trading Wednesday to move in the range of $3 per million British thermal units.

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