Winter Storm Fern reinforced a basic reality of the electric grid: when temperatures drop and demand spikes, reliable, dispatchable energy matters. During one of the coldest January spells in decades, natural gas met and exceeded that test, helping ensure families could keep their homes warm and their lights on.

As Fern pushed energy systems across most of the continental United States to their limits, natural gas output increased by roughly 14 percent in a single week. While other energy sources struggled to perform due to weather conditions, natural gas continued to provide heat and power when demand was highest.

This is how a modern power system functions when anchored by our reliable, homegrown energy that keeps energy flowing to homes, hospitals, and businesses during extreme weather.

Dispatchable resources like natural gas respond in real time and operate regardless of weather. For major natural gas-producing states like West Virginia, gas units’ system performance is a glimpse into how our state’s energy future can be more reliable and affordable by increasing in-state natural gas electricity generation.

During the storm, natural gas supplied about 40 percent of electricity generation across the PJM Interconnection, which serves West Virginia as well as 65 million other people in the mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. That contribution was essential, but it could also be higher.

It isn’t an issue of supply. West Virginia ranks fifth in the nation for gas production, and we sit atop the largest natural gas-producing region in the country. The reality is 98 percent of our state’s electricity comes from sources other than natural gas, despite it being far more efficient and cost-effective.

No other place is better suited to increasing natural gas production than the Northern Panhandle, sitting at the heart of the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. Counties like Ohio and Marshall were in the top 10 for estimated oil and natural gas property tax received in 2025 – and there’s room for more. Increased production means more jobs, more taxes to support local communities, and more confidence in having energy, no matter the weather conditions.

The performance of natural gas during Fern was supported by years of private investment in infrastructure, winterization, and system coordination across the country. Natural gas storage played a critical role. Record-level storage withdrawals supplemented flowing supply and ensured fuel availability throughout the storm.

As storage and power generation facilities proved vital, Fern exposed the cost of constrained pipeline infrastructure. In regions with limited pipeline capacity, natural gas prices spiked sharply as demand rose. In the Northeast, spot prices briefly exceeded $170 per million Btu, despite abundant supply located nearby. These price spikes of up to 1,400 percent were driven by infrastructure constraints, not resource scarcity.

West Virginia’s role in addressing these challenges is clear.

As electricity demand grows, reliability must remain the priority. West Virginia natural gas can provide dependable power for residents just as it supports manufacturing, home heating, and regional energy security. Expanded in-state natural gas generation would improve affordability and reliability while advancing the state’s long-term electricity goals under Governor Morrisey’s 50 by 50 energy plan. Fortunately, state policymakers and industry are aligned, as companies continue to show interest in investing in regions like the Northern Panhandle, thanks to its abundant natural gas resources.

Winter Storm Fern showed what works. Natural gas delivered when it mattered most, and we’re committed to ensuring West Virginia’s natural gas remains a critical component of an even more reliable and affordable energy system for West Virginians and our nation.

Rebecca McPhail is president-elect of the Charleston-based Gas and Oil Association of West Virginia.