Ohio’s Bryan Municipal Utilities to Store Natural Gas for Emergency Generation, Peak Shaving

by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 12, 2023

Ohio public power utility Bryan Municipal Utilities has entered into an agreement to store natural gas for emergency generation and peak shaving purposes.

The agreement is with The Ohio Gas Company, “our local but privately owned gas utility company,” noted Derek Schultz, Director of Utilities for Bryan Municipal Utilities.

The agreement calls for purchasing the commodity this month and having it placed in storage for the months of December 2023 through February 2024 when the demand for natural gas is at its peak. It also allows any unused gas to be rolled over to the summer peaking season, Schultz said.  

“Because of Winter Storm Elliott and the effects that has had on the ability to secure and purchase natural gas this agreement ensures that capacity is available for the City of Bryan’s emergency generation and peak shaving needs,” he said in an email.

“Protecting annual transmission and capacity savings from the City’s behind the meter generation was the driving factor in our decision,” he said.

When asked how long Bryan Municipal Utilities has been thinking about the move to store natural gas, Schultz said it started to think about the move recently, “as we learned about capacity being purchased much earlier than previous years.”