Greenville Utilities was well positioned during Winter Storms Fern and Giana to meet increased customer demand for natural gas thanks to the recent Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Plant expansion.
Ultimately, having the extra gas storage at the LNG Plant saved GUC from having to pay $2.5 to $3 million extra by having to purchase gas when demand was high and pricing was volatile. GUC makes strategic efforts to hedge gas prices and use LNG tank storage to protect customers and GUC from market fluctuations.
The expansion of the LNG Plant storage capacity is a part of the strategy to meet natural gas demand of Greenville and surrounding areas. Two cryogenic tanks that hold up to 70,000 gallons of liquified natural gas were installed and put online in December of 2025. This brings the total number of tanks to six.
Nationally, natural gas demand significantly increased as the Eastern U.S. experienced extremely low temperatures for more than a week. This demand caused record high natural gas spot pricing.
Demand increased as Winter Storm Fern caused people along the east coast to turn up their heat. Simultaneously, freezing weather in Pennsylvania forced natural gas production to drop 10%.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration indicates that prices jumped 70% in a week. GUC paid $3.5 million in additional gas prices, which was due to historically high spot pricing. Without the extra LNG tanks, GUC would have paid $6 million for gas during that timeframe.