Gas Malfunction Calling into Question the Reliability of Gas Power Plants

The document examines the reliability of natural gas power plants in the US, noting that they are disproportionately prone to failure during extreme weather, such as winter storms. It highlights the 2021 Winter Storm Uri as a critical example of how gas plant failures lead to catastrophic blackouts. To improve grid reliability and mitigate climate change, the author recommends transitioning to clean energy solutions—including renewables, energy storage, and demand-side efficiency—and urges regulators to restrict the approval of new gas plants.

• Natural gas plants are a major component of the US electricity sector, providing 40 percent of generation and accounting for 43 percent of generating capacity, but they represent a grid vulnerability due to their susceptibility to extreme weather.
• Gas plants failed disproportionately compared to their share of installed capacity during five extreme winter storms over the last decade, with failures caused by equipment malfunction in freezing temperatures and fuel supply disruptions.
• Winter Storm Uri in 2021 demonstrated the severity of these vulnerabilities in the central United States, where gas plant failures contributed to rolling blackouts for over 70 hours in Texas, affecting 4.5 million customers and contributing to 246 deaths.
• Grid reliability can be improved through supply-side clean energy (renewables, storage, and transmission) and demand-side solutions (energy efficiency and flexible demand), which also reduce global warming emissions and toxic pollutants in communities of color.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2024). Gas Malfunction Calling into Question the Reliability of Gas Power Plants. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/gas-malfunction_summary.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Gas Malfunction Calling into Question the Reliability of Gas Power Plants. 2024. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/gas-malfunction_summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Gas Malfunction Calling into Question the Reliability of Gas Power Plants |date=January 2024 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/gas-malfunction_summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2024gas, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Gas Malfunction Calling into Question the Reliability of Gas Power Plants}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2024-01/gas-malfunction_summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }