Most of these power plants are seldom used peaking units and, therefore, do not have firm natural gas supply contracts. They instead rely on interruptible gas supplies. Natural gas suppliers met their firm customers’ demand, but with heating demands for gas soaring, they could not meet demands of their interruptible supply agreements.
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So the power plants used the cheapest gas rate available, interruptible, which means they have the lowest priority for supply.
If Gas Companies have more contracts for non-interruptible, the price difference is used to expand facilities to meet the demand. But the power companies, in order to get the cheapest rate, agreed to be cut off if needed.
The interuptibles they speak of are electricity users.
The gas transmission companies can and do limit gas fired generation when it gets too cold.
I could have put 580mw to the grid during the last cold snap, but couldn’t due to lack of gas. (Both high price and availability)
Even during a declared emergency by a grid operator, requesting all available generation, we couldn’t run/generate.
NO gas