GEAR Task Force Releases Final Report at NARUC Annual Meeting

Group Establishes Nine Recommendations
to Create Better Gas-Electric Coordination

Source: Press Release
National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners

SEATTLE (November 12, 2025) - The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Gas-Electric Alignment for Reliability Task Force released a comprehensive report at its Annual Meeting and Education Conference in Seattle, Washington, and presented a solutions-focused set of recommendations on a main-stage panel.

Established in 2023 by former NARUC President Julie Fedorchak, the GEAR task force convened state utility regulators and industry representatives to negotiate and develop recommendations to better align the gas and electric industries and was chaired by NARUC President and Georgia PSC Commissioner Tricia Pridemore with Vice-Chair Kansas Commissioner Dwight D. Keen.

The November 2023 charter noted that the electric industry is more reliant than ever on natural gas to fuel electricity generation. A lack of coordination between systems in some regions poses serious reliability concerns to the electricity industry.

GEAR members examined the growing interdependence between natural gas and electric systems and how best to maintain reliability and affordability for customers and encourage necessary investments in both industries - specifically what reforms are needed to address the areas of friction, disconnect and failure. The goal was to develop solutions to better align both industries to maintain and improve the reliability of the gas and electric energy systems.

Recommendations proposed by the task force cover these nine areas:

1. Creation of a Natural Gas Readiness Forum
2. Natural Gas Pipeline Infrastructure
3. Gas Storage Opportunities
4. Load Shed
5. Intra-weekend and Intra-day Natural Gas Market Liquidity
6. Market Tools for Enhanced Supplier Performance in Extreme Winter Weather
7. Improving Generator Advance Natural Gas Fuel Procurement and Economic Certainty
8. Demand Response for Natural Gas Utilities
9. Inventivizing More Timely and Frequent Utility Interstate Capacity Release

"The report and recommendation of the GEAR Task Force are intended to set the stage for continued dialogues and a framework for how states and industry can develop a path forward to better align natural gas and electricity systems," said Pridemore. "I am grateful for the constructive discussions, negotiations, research and time commitment of GEAR members to address this critical issue."

The 40+ page report evaluated findings from the North American Energy Standards Board Gas-Electric Harmonization Forum, the Reliability Alliance Report developed by the Natural Gas Supply Association, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the Electric Power Supply Association, and the analyses of Storms Uri and Elliott by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation as the basis for initial source material.

"The GEAR recommendations provide an ideal starting point for state regulators to ponder future steps to enhance reliability. These recommendations were the distillation of collaborative dialogues between the industry and regulatory members of GEAR, as they contemplated many complex issues," said Keen. "We look forward to seeing how the recommendations will be implemented."

Members of the NARUC Board of Directors approved a resolution to adopt the recommendations outlined in the report.

Click here to download the report.