Natural gas use soared in Southcentral Alaska during the recent cold snap.
Enstar pulled almost three times as much natural gas from storage as initially anticipated in December, when unseasonably cold temperatures moved into the region, but said it's confident the supply is sufficient to serve its more than 150,000 customers.
John Sims is Enstar's president, and also leads Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, the main storage facility in Kenai.
“During a winter like this winter, we rely on everything to work perfectly, to serve our customers,” Sims said. “As long as everything's working, we assume that we're going to be able to serve customers, and we're confident that we can serve customers.”
Two years ago, the failure of two wells strained the utility so severely that Enstar was almost unable to meet the demand for gas during piercing, below-average temperatures. Since then, a $68 million expansion of the Kenai gas storage facility brought online two additional wells that Sims said were essential during last month’s cold snap.
The new wells are meant to provide redundancy and flexibility to the state’s largest utility company. If everything functions as planned, Sims said Enstar won’t have an issue delivering natural gas to customers.
“We’re designed to operate in these exact conditions. As long as there isn’t an equipment failure or something going out and going on in the fields, we can meet all of our customers' needs,” he said.
The utility still suggests that customers save energy when possible. To do that, Enstar recommends turning down your thermostat when away from home, adjusting water heater temperatures, and washing full loads of laundry.
Chugach Electric, another major utility in Southcentral, told the Anchorage Daily News it wasn't concerned about the utility’s gas supply after December’s cold snap.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect the cost of the Kenai facility’s expansion.
