2024 Year in Review

As we look forward to 2025, it’s a fitting moment to reflect on the Northeast Gas Association’s achievements and milestones over the past year. From strategic advancements to significant member engagement, it was an exciting 2024.

Welcoming New Members

This year, NGA expanded its membership base by welcoming Chesapeake Utilities as a new gas utility member. Additionally, Excelerate Energy, Williams, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, and NEC LNG joined as Transmission, LNG Importers, and Storage members, while NYSEARCH added Elizabethtown Gas to its RD&D membership. These new partnerships expand NGA’s territory and reflect the vital role the gas industry plays across the entire northeast.

Enhancing Member Engagement Through New Committees

Newly formed committees, including the Government Affairs Committee, Customer Service Committee, Conference & Workshop Committee, and Electric- Gas Cross-Grid Management Committee held their inaugural meetings in 2024. These committees are already driving progress in their respective focus areas, demonstrating the value of collaboration among NGA members.

Supporting the Clean Energy Transition

Recognizing the urgency of the clean energy transition, NGA realigned its Clean Energy committees to bolster members’ roles in achieving decarbonization goals. NYSEARCH continued its focus on low-carbon fuels and infrastructure integration, ensuring that our industry remains at the forefront of innovation. NGA also formally announced how we will support our members climate goals throughout the energy transition, to read our statement visit: Release.

Building out our Events Lineup

From the Spring and Fall Operations Conferences to the Regional Market Trends Forum and the Contractor and LDC Workshop, NGA events brought together more of our members than ever before. This year also marked the debut of the Women’s Leadership Symposium, and the inaugural Supply Chain Symposiums. These events provided fantastic opportunities for members to network, share best practices, and hear from industry leaders, regulators, and stakeholders. Rumor has it 2025 may have even more new events in store.

Education and Training

Speaking of providing our members opportunities to network and learn, NGA’s reputation for outstanding education and training was upheld in 2024 through programs like the Gas Operations School, LNG/LP Safety School, and leadership development initiatives. From new engineers and operations professionals to emerging managers, to established leaders, hundreds of gas industry professionals took part in NGA education and training programs this year.

Modernizing Our Digital Presence

NGA unveiled a new website in 2024, designed to enhance the user experience for members and the public alike. This platform serves as a hub for industry facts, work products, and services, ensuring greater accessibility and communication. NGA also launched a new membership newsletter, giving our members more readable and engaging content.

Education and Industry Representation

Educating our stakeholders about the essential role of natural gas infrastructure remains at the core of NGA’s efforts. In 2024, NGA leaders participated in conferences and public forums, engaged our regulators and government officials through events like the pre-winter briefing, and responded to media requests. NGA also worked with the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, ISO New England, New York ISO, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation to study regional energy security. NGA continued our collaborative work with gas supply and gas control committees as well as our regional independent system operators and regulators, emphasizing the importance of coordination during periods of high demand and constrained delivery.

Operator Qualifications

NGA’s Operator Qualifications (OQ) program had another record year, supporting approximately 22,000 individual users for NGA and hybrid OQ programs. This year, the OQ team launched the NGA OQ Resource Center, fine tuned and completed the final phased release for updates to the OQ program, released Operator Qualification Plan Revision M1, and hosted the Power Admin Training.

Promoting Safety Excellence

In 2024, NGA’s PSMS Program transitioned from implementation to sustainability, embedding safety principles into daily operations. NGA also launched the new PSMS Excellence in Safety Award, celebrating members who exemplify excellence in safety programs aligned with PSMS principles. You can learn more about the award here.

The 2024 award winners included:

• Large Operators
  • Con Edison
  • National Grid

• Medium Operator:
  • Unitil

• Small/Municipal Operator:
  • Westfield Gas & Electric

• Contractor(s):
  • Hallen Construction
  • NEUCO
  • Network Infrastructure

Navigating Regulatory Challenges

NGA provided our members with significant regulatory support, assisting members with state rulemaking and filings across our region, as well as federal proposals on leak detection, gas detector installations, and more.

Preparing the Center of Excellence: The Future of Technical Support

NGA’s soon-to-be-launched Center of Excellence completed the solicitation of service providers, setting the stage for 2025, when NGA will launch the program, granting our members access to subject matter experts across five core practice areas. This program addresses the critical need for industry expertise amidst ongoing workforce transitions. Keep an eye out for more details coming soon.

NYSEARCH: A Year of Innovation

NYSEARCH experienced a seamless leadership transition in 2024, complemented by increased member recruitment and an expanded RD&D portfolio. The hiring of a West Coast project manager and a $472,000 federal RD&D co-funding award for “detection of defects on buried steel pipelines” underscoring the division’s momentum and impact on the industry. In 2025 NYSEARCH will focus on advancing innovative technologies including advanced In-Line Inspection pipeline robotics, location of non-detectable plastic pipe, non-destructive testing of plastic fused pipe joints and leveraging AI technology.

Expanding the Team

The NGA Team is growing! In addition to adding Mark Gunsalus as VP, RD&D and Cal Lamb as project manager at NYSEARCH, NGA also added Denise Powers as a new Executive Assistant and Hannah Camara as a new Technical Training and Qualification Manager.

Gratitude and Optimism

None of this year’s accomplishments would have been possible without the dedication of NGA’s members, committees, and staff. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all who contributed their time and expertise to our shared mission.

As we look ahead to 2025, NGA remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing the natural gas industry, supporting the energy transition, and fostering collaboration across the sector. Here’s to building on this year’s successes and embracing the opportunities of tomorrow.