Flexible generation as gas market partner for grid reliability

James Kelly (published on LinkedIn) argues that natural gas fuel supply structures must evolve to support flexible onsite generation as a reliability partner for the modern grid.

• Main announcement/action:Natural gas fuel supply structures must evolve to align with real-time power market dispatch to enable flexible onsite generation that can act as a reliability shock absorber; cites accelerating load drivers such as AI-driven data centers, electrification, and renewable buildout and notes interconnection timelines stretching “three, four, even five years” and generator operational patterns (e.g., running 48 hours then idle for days).
• Details and implementation pathways: Calls for alignment among pipeline operators, local distribution companies, third-party marketers, power developers, and regulators and adoption of specific market tools: no-notice services, dynamic hourly balancing mechanisms, hybrid physical and financial supply products, and modernized park-and-loan structures to provide operational fuel flexibility.