ABOUT NISOURCE

NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is one of the largest fully-regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 3.3 million natural gas customers and 500,000 electric customers across six states through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. The mission of our approximately 7,200 employees is to deliver safe, reliable energy that drives value to our customers. NiSource is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability – North America Index and is on Forbes lists of America’s Best Employers for Women and Diversity. Learn more about NiSource’s record of leadership in sustainability, investments in the communities it serves and how we live our vision to be an innovative and trusted energy partner at NiSource.com.

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

Central to NiSource’s aspirational commitment to sustainability is our continued focus on building a sustainable and cleaner energy future in a way that provides financial, economic, social and environmental benefits to all stakeholders – including our employees, customers and communities.

In 2022, we continued to explore innovate, new pathways to reduce emissions through the use of hydrogen, renewable natural gas and emerging technologies. We furthered our ongoing energy infrastructure modernization, renewable electric generation investments and other strategies responsible for significant reduction in emissions. And NiSource advanced its sustainability plans with the announcement of a net zero goal which places our commitment among industry leaders – reaching net zero Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2040.

As we advance toward these goals, we understand that the transition to a sustainable energy future must keep people at the center of any decisions while balancing multiple factors – including reliability, affordability, resilience and environmental impact. That means we must continue to provide customers with access to a reliable supply of energy at a cost that customers value as we thoughtfully move forward.

Significant transformation and tangible progress continues to occur across the energy industry, and NiSource remains well positioned in enabling our customers to pursue their energy and sustainability preferences safely, reliably and affordably now, and into the future.

EXPANDING ADVANCED LEAK DETECTION

NiSource has continued our partnership with Picarro, an industry leader in analytics-driven methane detection, and deployed advanced mobile methane detection vehicles in Indiana, Kentucky Maryland, Ohio, and Pennsylvania and Virginia.

These Picarro-equipped vehicles are designed to “sniff” the air and identify potential natural gas leaks using proven technology that’s 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional leak detection equipment.

Resources like the Picarro-equipped vehicles are critical in affirming our commitment to safety as well as reaching our goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

NJNG has long been a champion of encouraging conservation, energy efficiency and reducing the environmental impact from our own operations – it is a part of who we are and an effort we have been at for decades. NJR believes we have a role to play in achieving carbon reduction goals, and that our businesses will be critical as we strive to meet these goals affordably, while ensuring energy resiliency for our customers. Our track record of investing in a reliable, environmentally sound natural gas delivery system positions us well to continue advancing a clean energy future.

Responsibly Investing in Our System to Reduce Emissions, Improve Safety:

Upgrading aging infrastructure contributes to greater service reliability delivery, while helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We have made significant investments in our system to retire aging infrastructure and operate a top-tier natural gas distribution system that is environmentally sound – with the fewest leaks per mile of any natural gas utility in New Jersey.

• From 2009 to 2019, NJNG invested nearly $1.6 billion in utility infrastructure to enhance the resiliency of our system and to better serve our customers.
• NJNG’s Safety and Facilities Enhancement (SAFE) program replaced vintage cast iron.
• NJNG became the first natural gas utility in the state to eliminate all cast iron from its system.
• In 2016, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) approved the replacement of NJNG’s remaining unprotected steel main. This work is expected to be complete in 2021.

Increased Use Of Optical Gas Imagery Cameras Helps Kinetik Stay On Top Of Emissions

Kinetik has increasingly used technology to ensure its operations remain safe and environmentally compliant, but the latest tool in the company’s ongoing effort to reduce emissions is the optical gas imagery camera (OGI).

The first thing to know about OGI cameras is they don’t work like a regular camera.  Regular cameras require visible light to hit something, bounce off it and turn it into an image.  An OGI camera makes pictures from infrared energy, not visible light. 

An OGI camera is made up of a lens, infrared sensor, processing electronics and a mechanical housing.  The lens focuses infrared energy onto the sensor.  The sensor can come in a variety of pixel configurations and infrared absorption spectra. 

Kinetik EVP of Operations Matt Wall explains that OGI technology is a great tool that along with proper application of science and supporting data, can provide useful insight and qualitative assessment of emissions from an identified source.   

“We stress the importance of reporting and repairing fugitive emissions but even a properly trained and well-intentioned operator can miss emissions that are invisible to the naked eye.  Since we have incorporated the use of OGI cameras into our preventive maintenance program, we’ve been able to quickly and precisely detect leaks and fix them.  With four plants and over 1,000 miles of pipeline, we must stay on top of our system to ensure that our system integrity remains at a high level. 

“Even though our plants are all relatively new, a valve can go bad or start to leak.  Our investment in OGI cameras allows us to see issues quickly, address them and stay on top of maintenance work so that we continue to operate as safely and environmentally responsibly as possible.”

As a participant on the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) for the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) project, Kinder Morgan had the opportunity to help build and implement a test site facility for Colorado State University’s Fort Collins Campus, the Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center (METEC). Built with equipment similar to typical natural gas operations, the new test site simulates actual natural gas leaks that might occur at production, gathering and underground pipeline facilities. The site is equipped with well heads, tank batteries, valves, pipelines and engines. 

Industry professionals and agency personnel use the facility to train their employees in the use of leak detection equipment. The site is also used by technology developers to test and demonstrate their equipment meets the needs of the industry.

The facility was developed with funds from industry and the Department of Energy. The METEC test site project is part of the ARPA-E Methane Observation Networks with Innovative Technology to Obtain Reductions (MONITOR) program. The MONITOR program’s goal was to develop innovative and cost-effective methane leak detection technologies to more precisely and efficiently locate and measure methane emissions associated with natural gas operations and oil production wells with associated gas production. The next generation leak detection technologies should drive enhanced leak detection and repairs to further reduce methane emissions.

Using technology and best practices to identify and reduce methane emissions.

Enstor Gas, LLC (Enstor) joined ONE Future to further the company’s commitment to being responsible stewards of the environment and minimizing environmental impacts. A major component of this commitment is focusing efforts to reduce methane emissions.

Enstor is active in assessing its six (6) natural gas storage facilities operating in states across the southern regions of the United States for methods to best reduce and prevent methane emissions at each location. To further the commitment to reduced emissions, Enstor has focused efforts on replacing current equipment with improved technology at various locations. One key project is replacing nine (9) engines with lower emitting engines, cutting potential for methane slip. Enstor’s core values and focus on continuous improvement play an important role in these endeavors.

Enstor is continuously focusing efforts to adjust operational procedures in order to mitigate emissions and improve emission measurements. The utilization of industry best practices and implementation of Audio, Visual, Olfactory (AVO) inspections, aerial Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) and Optical Gas Imagery (OGI) at the facilities and along the pipelines further support the company’s goals and values. These activities minimize the impacts on global warming potentials by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and the potential for leaks.

Enstor endeavors to be a good steward of the environment and surrounding communities. In order to meet these goals and values, the company operations are proactive with leak inspections and preventions and strives to meet and exceed the best practice industry standards. Where drones cannot be utilized, Enstor actively conducts well inspections, quarterly, weekly, and sometimes daily. These activities are often more stringent than current standards but ensure Enstor meets the best practice standards set forth by the government and industry.

Enstor is committed to protecting the environment by utilizing new technologies and ensuring employees are educated in best practice methodologies. Enstor has already begun the process of training employees in early leak detection through AVO inspections. Additionally, Enstor is utilizing new technology to quantify leak rates through ultrasonic technology. This technology will be rolled out and utilized quarterly at all facilities by the end of 2023.

ONE Future member, Dominion Energy, has a core mission of providing clean, safe, affordable, and reliable energy to millions of American homes and businesses. As part of this core mission, the company has taken meaningful action to reduce both carbon and methane emissions across its footprint. Since 2010, Dominion Energy has reduced methane emissions by 25%, and is on track to achieve a 65% reduction by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2040. Ultimately, the company has committed to achieving net zero emissions for both carbon and methane by 2050.

Their progress has come through a comprehensive approach of reducing or eliminating gas venting during planned maintenance and inspections, replacing targeted infrastructure and equipment with lower-emission equipment, and expanding leak detection and repair programs. After recently piloting Zero Emissions Vacuum and Compression (ZEVAC®) technology to capture and recycle natural gas during maintenance and inspection, Dominion Energy purchased 20 more units for widespread use across its distribution and transmission pipeline systems. Overall, these methane reduction efforts have prevented more than 250,000 mt of methane from entering the atmosphere over the past decade, equivalent to taking almost 1.3 million non-EV cars off the road every year or planting 103 million new trees.

Dominion Energy is taking bold steps to help other industries reduce their methane emissions, as well. It has partnered with the nation’s largest pork and dairy producers to capture waste methane from our nation’s farms and convert it to clean, renewable energy. And ongoing investments in LNG will help maritime shipping vessels convert from diesel to the lower-carbon alternative.

At Black Hills Energy, our mission of improving life with energy means we must be ready to make tomorrow even better than today. That is why we are committed to creating a cleaner energy future that builds upon our responsibility to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy. In 2020, we announced our goal of reducing GHG emissions intensity by 50% by 2035 (relative to 2005 levels) in our natural gas utilities.

Our GHG emissions reduction strategy includes:

• Pipeline replacement: a multi-year capital investment plan to replace aging infrastructure and eliminate higher methane-emitting unprotected steel, obsolete plastic and above-ground pipeline from our natural gas pipeline system. Since 2005, we reduced our annual CO2e emission by approximately 9,000 tons while increasing pipeline miles by approximately 6,000 miles.
• Services replacement: a multi-year capital investment plan to replace aging natural gas regulators and valves constructed of higher methane-emitting materials such as unprotected steel and obsolete plastic. Since 2005, we increased the number of natural gas distribution services by over 160,000 installations, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions by over 20,000 tons.
• Damage prevention: Our comprehensive damage prevention strategy increases system safety and lowers the potential for methane to be released from a damaged natural gas pipeline.
• Renewable natural gas (RNG): We currently receive RNG from four facilities and are pursuing additional RNG opportunities. RNG, a potentially carbon negative energy, has the potential to further reduce operational and customer natural gas GHG emissions.

To help achieve our goal, we’ve committed to the EPA’s Methane Challenge and will replace all remaining unprotected steel pipes before 2035. In addition, we have developed comprehensive, programmatic integrity management programs to monitor our natural gas pipeline systems, upgrade our pipeline networks to enhance safety, improve system reliability and reduce or eliminate methane emissions.

The College View development near Mississippi State University has a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) microgrid, installed earlier this year, that reduces MSU’s carbon emissions by 750 metric tons per year and saves $116,000 per year that the university would have paid to Starkville Utilities otherwise.

The College View mixed-use development on the northwest edge of the Mississippi State University campus includes an innovative energy-saving power grid that is the first of its kind at an apartment complex in Mississippi.

MSU partnered with Greystar and Blue Sky Power on a combined cooling, heating and power (CCHP) project to provide hot water, natural gas and electricity to College View in one microgrid. Atmos Energy supplied the natural gas.

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