As we begin an exciting new year, we wanted to take a moment to highlight a few of NGA’s accomplishments in 2025. From expanding our events lineup to advancing industry readiness, safety, and coordination, the past year underscored NGA’s continued commitment to supporting our members and the broader Northeast energy system.

Bringing Members Together Through Events

NGA’s 2025 events calendar featured several fan-favorite programs, including the Spring and Fall Operations Conferences, Gas Operations School, and Regional Market Trends Forum. These cornerstone events once again provided opportunities for members to connect, share best practices, and engage on critical operational and market issues.

In 2025, NGA also launched two new events—the Policy Symposium and the Energy Innovation Summit—expanding our programming to better address evolving policy and technology discussions. Additionally, NGA hosted an Energy Innovation Webinar Series, making timely insights accessible to a broader audience.

Across the year, NGA events and meetings took us across the Northeast, from New York and New Jersey, to New England and Pennsylvania. In total, more than 1,000 NGA members participated in events throughout 2025. Looking ahead, NGA’s 2026 events calendar is now available on our website, with more being added soon!

Education and Industry Representation

Educating stakeholders about the critical role natural gas plays in the Northeast energy landscape remained a core priority in 2025. NGA leaders—including President and CEO José Costa, Vice President of Communications and Public Policy Alana Daly, Vice President of Operations Paul Armstrong, Vice President of Special Projects Bob Wilson, and Public Affairs Director Christian Rodrick—represented NGA at conferences, public forums, and meetings with regulators and policymakers across the region.

NGA also educated the public through engagements with the media throughout the year, responding to inquiries from trade publications such as S&P Global and Pipeline & Gas Journal. In addition, where appropriate, NGA drafted and submitted materials to correct the record when our industry was misrepresented. Further, NGA’s bimonthly newsletter continues to provide timely news and information to our membership

To further support public education, NGA launched The Pipeline, the new digital home of the Statistical Guide, a longtime annual publication providing facts and data about the regional natural gas industry. In 2025, the guide was reintroduced as a digital resource available on NGA’s website, with improved accessibility and usability.

Public Awareness and Natural Gas Safety

NGA and the members of our Public Awareness Committee continued our efforts to promote natural gas safety across the region, including the introduction of consumer education regarding the public safety value of considering installation of residential natural gas detectors. Hosting our annual Spring and Fall Public Awareness Media Campaigns, NGA was able to reach record numbers with our messages regarding gas safety. Indeed, following our spring campaign, data showed a measurable increase in gas safety awareness compared to 2024 levels. Our fall digital media campaign continued our success, setting an NGA record for both impressions and interactions for the campaign.

Mutual Aid: Preparing for and Responding to Industry Needs

In 2025, NGA continued to strengthen mutual aid coordination and preparedness across the region. NGA launched its Mutual Aid Playbook, conducted our annual mutual aid drills with all utility members in June, and held four internal tabletop exercises throughout the year to test and refine response protocols to best support members in the event of an actual emergency requiring mutual assistance.

NGA staff also participated in regional and national preparedness efforts. Paul Armstrong, Vice President of Operations; Glenn Meyers, Director of Operations; and Dave Grande, Staff Engineer, took part in the Clear Path XIII Tabletop Exercise in Boston, Massachusetts, hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER).

Throughout the year, NGA helped facilitate several mutual aid responses, including both emergency requests for qualified technicians and non-emergency requests for material and equipment.

Operator Qualification

NGA continued to operate its nation-leading Operator Qualification (OQ) Program in 2025, supporting member compliance, workforce competency, and safety. The program remains a cornerstone of NGA’s technical services. In 2025, NGA hosted its second annual OQ Efficiency Roundtable hosted by Unitil, NEUCO, and ASTAR in NH, released version M.2 of the OQ Written Plan Framework to accommodate regulatory changes in MA, commenced work on the development of OQ credentials for supervisors and inspectors, and initiated a continuous improvement effort to update OQ training program content.

Training and Workforce Development

NGA continued to offer a number of training and professional development programs designed to support professionals at every stage of their careers. 2025 trainings included:

• Leadership Development: In partnership with Bryant University, NGA hosted its Fall 2025 Leadership Development I program, which saw 18 industry professionals graduate. NGA also launched the Executive Presence Program with Bryant University, and our inaugural program in Spring 2025 included 11 leaders from across the Northeast.
• LNG/LP Safety and Emergency Response Training: In partnership with the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy, NGA continued to offer the nation’s most comprehensive LNG/LP safety and Emergency response training program. In 2025, more than 260 participants took the training.
• Part 192 Workshop: NGA partnered with UGI Utilities to again offer its highly in-demand Part 192 workshop. 30 students participated in the program at UGI’s State of the Art training center in Pennsylvania.

Launching the Center of Excellence

In 2025, NGA officially launched its Center of Excellence (CoE), marking a major milestone in expanding technical support for members. NGA executed its first Center of Excellence Service Provider Agreement, formally activating the program. The program includes a warehouse of NGA Associate Members with over 20 industry-recognized Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) and Multidisciplined Consulting firms providing membership support in five core practice areas including:

• Gas Distribution System Engineering & Operations
• Gas Transmission System Engineering & Operations
• Gas Processing Facility Engineering & Operations
• Pipeline Safety, Training, Qualification & Workforce Competency
• De-Carbonization, Emerging Fuels & Emissions Mitigation

The primary goal of the CoE is to enable connection of participating NGA member organizations and Operating Committees with technical and consulting support when needed through an automated system request portal through NGA’s Website.

NGA executed its first Center of Excellence Service Provider Agreement, formally activating the program in 2025 and is planning a series of information sessions in 2026 to further socialize the value-added approach to providing a sustainable process-based approach to membership technical support long into the future.

Learn more about the Center of Excellence

Supporting Gas Readiness and Gas-Electric Coordination

Throughout 2025, NGA continued its work to support gas readiness and gas-electric coordination across the Northeast. This included ongoing engagement through NGA’s Gas Supply Task Force, the association’s partnership with ISO New England as co-chairs of the Electric Gas Operating Committee, and collaboration with the American Gas Association through its Natural Gas Readiness Forums.

NGA also maintained regular communication with state, local, and federal government officials on readiness and coordination issues. NGA additionally supported the NPCC in the development of its Northeast Gas/Electric System Study, on which NGA served on the steering committee. Further, NGA’s Electric Gas Cross-Grid Management Committee published its white paper, “Gas Impacts During Electric Outages,” which serves as a compendium of leading practices for mitigating impacts to the gas distribution system during bulk electric customer restoration. Interested parties can learn more by contacting Glenn Meyers at gmeyers@northeastgas.org.

Transitioning Pipeline Safety Management System (PSMS) Focus from Implementation to Sustainability.

Across NGA membership, PSMS has become an integrated component of safety culture. NGA membership continues to be national leaders in practical implementation of safety management system principles, and NGA’s Tactical to Practical approach to operationalizing strategy continues to attract national attention. This approach has allowed our members to make PSMS real in day-to-day operations.

As we worked with our members on our Tactical to Practical approach, in 2025 NGA partnered with Intent Based Leadership International to promote Intent Based Leadership as a tool to encourage operational ownership of PSMS principles. Additional steps to make PSMS real in the day-to-day included, the development of consensus based Technical Guidance for LDC operations specifically focused on PSMS Management Reviews & Continuous Improvement techniques. Additionally, the Lessons Learned Forum Discussion Group continues to grow, allowing operators to share near-miss / good catch experiences to help avoid incidents and reduce pipeline safety risk.

The PSMS committee looks forward to expanding tactical approaches to PSMS sustainability focus in 2026. At NGA, PSMS is not just another program, but rather core principles embedded into decisions and actions that drive a sustainable shift in safety culture.

Growing the NGA Team

In 2025, NGA welcomed a pair of new team members. Emily Keyes joined the association as Events Planning Manager, and Lisa Blazinski came aboard as Program Analyst for Operator Qualification and Training. These additions strengthen NGA’s capacity to serve members and expand programming in the years ahead.

Thank You and Looking Ahead

None of this year’s accomplishments would have been possible without the engagement and support of NGA’s members, committees, partners, and staff. We are grateful for the time, expertise, and collaboration that continue to drive our shared mission forward.

As we look toward 2026, NGA remains committed to supporting our members, strengthening regional coordination, and advancing a safe, reliable, and resilient energy system for the Northeast, while continuing to underscore the critical role of natural gas.

Thank you,

The Northeast Gas Association