Biomethane regulations to be updated

Ecogas’s Organics Processing Facility in Reporoa

The Gas Industry Company (GIC) is proposing two introductory regulatory changes that lay the groundwork for the future introduction of biomethane into gas pipelines.

The GIC says the proposed changes will be part of an omnibus paper going to its board by the end of this month before going out for consultation. The paper will cover network arrangements around biomethane and other issues such as smart meters.

One change is in response to a change suggested by Firstgas, now part of the Clarus group, so it can inject biomethane into the pipeline network from the Ecogas biogas plant at Reporoa.

Firstgas is installing equipment to upgrade the biogas produced from Ecogas’s waste digester to pipeline standard biomethane.

Biomethane injection is expected to begin at Broadlands near Reporoa from March, the GIC says.

The GIC says Firstgas asked for changes to the way critical contingency pressure thresholds are set.

Firstgas said it needed more flexibility to be able to run the transmission system at lower pressure.

The GIC wanted more information as to the potential impact that lower pressure could have on other system users.

Other proposed changes are minor updates to the 2008 critical contingency regulations and to the reconciliation and switching rules (including the trial injection of biomethane into gas networks), daily allocations and the rollout of advanced gas meters.

Given the GIC board signs the paper off, it will go out for consultation with an expected mid-February date for receiving submissions. Any recommended rule changes would then go to the Minister of Energy and Resources by April, with the intention of the changes going into effect from October 2024.

See details of GIC’s work programme in its latest quarterly report.