By ROBERT GIBSON
Chair
Board of Public Utilities

Tom Tierney’s thoughtful op-ed piece “When the Power Goes Out, Natural Gas Still Works” (https://ladailypost.com/op-ed-when-the-power-goes-out-natural-gas-still-works/) contains many valid points. But it leaves out two large ones that should also be considered.

Gas stoves can be lit with a match. Gas furnaces and boilers have electric control systems and use electric fans, blowers or pumps to distribute the heated air or water. Most gas water heaters also have electric control systems. Gas clothes dryers need electricity to turn the drum. Any may have electric ignition. Stoves are the only gas appliance that do not also require electricity. Natural gas service interruptions are much less common than electric outages. But they do occur.

When they do, it is often days before service is restored. Electric service is usually restored in minutes or, occasionally, a few hours.

Reliability is the premier goal of our Department of Public Utilities. Electric service in Los Alamos is about four times more reliable (one-fourth the outage time) today than it was when I joined the Board of Public Utilities the first time in 2001. Our reliability is substantially better than regional or national metrics to which we compare. (The Board examines those detailed statistics every month.) Reliability and resiliency improvements continue.

When the power goes out, the only gas appliance that still works is the stove. Depending on season and type of water heater, if the gas goes out, both the house and the showers can get cold.

Note: This article represents the individual views of its author, not necessarily those of the Board or Department of Public Utilities.