BETTER OFF than most states, Illinois got through the January natural gas crisis without massive plant shutdowns or curtailments to high priority customers. Curtailment of gas supplies to the state's industries began in mid-January. Many industries using conversion burners switched voluntarily to other fuels. By early February curtailment was on a day-to-day basis fluctuating with temperatures.
In the Midwest, Illinois and Michigan were the best prepared for the winter fuel shortage. Illinois, which gets most of its natural gas from Kansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, owes its comparative good fortune to heavy investment in underground storage capacity — the largest gas fields of any state — and a good reserve supply accumulated during the last two or three years. Conservation efforts by both industrial and residential consumers were successful but would continue for the rest of the winter. In addition, two synthetic natural gas plants in the Joliet area produce 10 per cent of the state's needs — though at three times the price of federally controlled pipeline gas.
The big question is the winter of 1978 — and the ones that follow. Even if comprehensive federal energy legislation deregulates the price of natural gas this spring, there will not be enough time or enough gas to replenish reserves by fall. Continued cold weather could worsen the situation by depleting the "cushion" needed for efficient operation of storage fields. The nation's natural gas production has declined steadily since 1973. Deregulation would provide an incentive to open new fields, but forecasts collected by the American Gas Association suggest that by 1985 production will still not have reached 1973 levels and that a decline will follow shortly thereafter.
Possible diversion of Illinois gas
The state could stand to lose some with the
passage February 2 of the Emergency
Natural Gas Act, which gives President
Jimmy Carter power to order one interstate
pipeline to share gas with another and allows
pipelines to bid for emergency gas from
producers at whatever price will get the gas.
The emergency legislation, which will be in
effect until August 1977, "could possibly
take some of the low priority gas we have
and distribute it to the other states,"
according to Bob Podlasek, Illinois Commerce Commission administrative assistant
for energy. Contracts for gas deliveries made
before the federal controls were lifted might
be bypassed under the bill in order to divert
supplies to the eastern states, leaving Illinois
with more expensive gas. Utility companies
and the Illinois Commerce Commission are
willing to go along with President Carter's
emergency measure but oppose long-term
sharing of Illinois natural gas supplies with
other states.
Relaxation of ban on high sulfur fuel
At Gov. James Thompson's request, the
Pollution Control Board on February 3
relaxed the state's sulfur dioxide standards
on grades 4, 5 and 6 residual fuel oil and
allowed industries to turn off their after
burners for a 30-day period ending March 7.
The relaxation was limited to Cook, Lake,
DuPage and Will Counties. The action was
taken to prevent plant closings caused by an
inability to get shipments of low sulfur oil up
the frozen Mississippi and Illinois river
systems. The emergency measure raises the
allowable sulfur dioxide content from 0.8
pounds per million BTU's of heat produced
to 2.5 lbs., still within acceptable limits. The
colder weather favored a minimizing of
pollution. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), which was monitoring the
affected areas to determine the impact of
relaxed standards, requested firms using the
higher sulfur oil or not using after burners to
notify the EPA's Division of Air Pollution in
Springfield: phone — 217/782-7326.
/ M.S.K.
28 / March 1977 / Illinois Issues