Resiliency of interdependent gas and electricity systems : the New England case

Abstract

According to the Presidential Policy Directive 21, the natural gas and the power systems should be able to recover quickly following a disaster and also be able to anticipate high-impact, low-probability events, rapidly recover, and absorb lessons for adapting its operation and structure for preventing or mitigating the impact of similar events in the future. All of this brings in a growing need for resiliency as the natural gas and electricity systems need to have robust recovery strategies in the face of physical, environmental, cybernetic, security or societal threats. The importance of gas and electricity system resilience increases even further, as the interdependency of the two sectors deepens, especially here in New England, where natural gas now accounts for 50% of region's total power plant capacity. In this thesis, a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model of integrated gas and electricity system is used to do contingency analysis and determine components of both systems that are critical to improve resilience. The model's main contribution is that it represents gas dynamics accurately. Using this model, we looked at several threats at the junction of gas and electricity systems. Based on the model results, higher line-pack, and pressures, as well as additional compressor capacity investments, were shown to improve system resiliency. The model could be used as a decision support tool for policy-makers to do contingency analysis of gas-electricity systems.