Atlanta Gas Light is helping bring a sustainable future for Metro Atlanta

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) states that the population of its 10-county planning area has roughly doubled from 2.5 million to nearly 5 million over the past 30 years (1990 – 2020).

Atlanta Gas Light has always been committed to providing clean, safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas to our growing customer base and communities. To sustain that commitment, we continually enhance and expand our natural gas infrastructure throughout Metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia, especially in times of major growth and development.

There are many key players in the state’s deregulated natural gas market, which can be confusing to customers as they engage with Atlanta Gas Light or one of Georgia’s 13 certified natural gas Marketers. In Georgia’s natural gas market, Atlanta Gas Light owns, operates, and maintains the natural gas infrastructure including pipelines that transport natural gas to homes and businesses throughout the state.

Part of maintaining the natural gas infrastructure is pipeline replacement, recognized today as having the single largest impact on methane emissions reductions in the industry’s distribution segment. The U.S. Department of Energy has recognized Atlanta Gas Light as having one of the earliest and most successful programs in the country.

For example, as part of our commitment to provide natural gas safely and reliably to our communities, we are replacing the natural gas mains and some service lines in the Buckhead area with newer pipe through the Piedmont Enhancement Project.

The Piedmont Enhancement Project will provide more resilient infrastructure, support for the increasing demand from residential and commercial customers as well as bring a greater system capacity to this high-growth corridor. It will also allow homes and businesses in the area to have reliable access to this energy source to help support jobs, development, and the local economy.

Another pipeline project recently completed at the end of 2021 was the Wade Green Project in Cobb County. With a major shift of population growth in the northwest Atlanta area, this pipeline project improved pressure in our system serving the Cobb area, so our customers can be assured of having natural gas when they need it the most. It also helps meet our obligation to provide enough natural gas to customers to serve them on the coldest days of the year.

The company is also implementing new technology such as ZEVAC systems to reduce emissions. This technology allows for the company to capture natural gas on an isolated segment on our pipeline and recycle it back into the system that would otherwise be released.

Our infrastructure and net zero emissions

On a national level, natural gas and its infrastructure are foundational to achieving a net-zero emissions future. By including natural gas, advanced fuels, and our world class infrastructure, we can expand our state’s opportunities to slash emissions, unleash greater innovation and enhance energy reliability and resiliency.

Here in Georgia, Atlanta Gas Light is a pioneer when it comes to sustainability and innovation, and as a natural gas distributor plays a major role in supporting national and state emission reductions with efforts focused on helping the state realize a clean energy economy.

Atlanta Gas Light provides more than just natural gas to our communities. We are working toward creating a more sustainable future by reducing greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the reliability and affordability of service that our customers need. In Georgia alone, we reduced annual methane emissions from our distribution system by approximately 60% between 1998 and 2018, even as we grew the system by about 25% - all while keeping costs manageable for our customers.

We continue to make measurable progress in reducing emissions thanks to our Southern Company family’s ability to leverage economies of scale and share best practices, as well as our cross-sector partnerships, innovative technologies and research and development investments.

We live in the communities we serve, and we rely on the same energy that we work hard to provide for our neighbors. Natural gas will play a meaningful role in securing America’s energy future, and Atlanta Gas Light is excited to lead the way.