Study: natural gas, 'reforms' needed to bolster energy supplies

EPHRATA — The Pacific Northwest faces an increased risk of electricity blackouts unless Washington and other states allow the use of natural gas and other reforms to provide backup energy supplies.

That’s the conclusion of a study commissioned in early 2025 by a number of Northwest utilities, including the Grant, Chelan, and Douglas county PUDs.

A summary of the findings was shared last week with Grant PUD commissioners during their May 26 meeting.

Washington has a law requiring the state’s power supply to be 100% carbon free by 2045.

But the study by San Francisco-based Energy and Environmental Economics says forecasts for the next 20 years show an increasing demand for electricity at the same time that coal and other carbon-based energy producers face mandated closures.

According to the E-3 consultant’s forecast, a resource “gap” – the difference between needed power and the ability to produce it – will expand from 9 gigawatts in 2030 to 14 to 18 gigawatts by 2035.

Nine gigawatts is approximately the amount of energy needed to power the entire state of Oregon.

While electricity needs continue to rise, utility officials say the region lacks the capability to close the “resource gap” in the near term due to several factors:

—    “institutional barriers” including permitting processes which inhibit construction of more transmission lines and other electric infrastructure;

—     delays in building more “on demand” base generation, including power from hydroelectric producers, geothermal, and “clean” nuclear energy sources;

—    the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, which have not yet expanded or evolved enough to replace coal, oil, and other carbon-producing energy sources that can provide “on demand” supplies. 

One of the frustrations expressed by the mid-Columbia River PUDs and other dam operators on the river is that Washington state does not recognize hydroelectric power generation as a carbon-free, renewable energy resource.

In the long term, the E-3 study said, it is possible to achieve “deep carbon reductions” as sought by the state law while maintaining grid reliability and affordability by including the use of natural gas generators during energy shortfalls. 

Those would likely be needed during prolonged cold or hot spells until “emerging, clean-energy technologies” become commercially viable to fill the gap, according to the study.

Those points were similarly voiced during an “energy summit” coordinated last month by U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake.

One featured panelist, Scott Simms, executive director of the Public Power Council, said both hydropower and natural gas “have saved us” during peak power-demand events in recent years.

Simms said the two energy sources were vital during a prolonged cold spell in early 2024 that saw below-zero temperatures in the region, and again in June 2021 when a “heat dome” blanketed the Northwest with extreme temperatures well above 100 degrees.

Simms cautioned against over-reliance on renewables – wind and solar – as future power needs and potential disruptions both increase. “Better get a (portable) generator for your house,” he advised during the May 11 gathering at BBCC.

In April, Chelan, Douglas, and Grant PUDs announced they were considering a partnership to explore the potential for geothermal energy in North Central Washington to expand their energy portfolios.

Last week, Grant PUD commissioners approved a motion to advance that partnership. The agreement commits the district to covering one-third the cost, up to $7.3 million, for the initial phases of study.

To cover a portion of the cost, the district said it will use part of its proceeds received through Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act “auctions.”