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To maintain its status as world energy leader, the U.S. must “reimagine” permitting approvals for traditional energy projects and address specific risks in the nation’s electrical grid, the National Petroleum Council said this week in its first two reports issued at the request of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

What’s going on: The NPC, a federal advisory committee made up of more than 200 energy experts and tasked in June with providing policy recommendations on the U.S. energy market, on Wednesday released “Reliable Energy: Delivering on the Promise of Gas Electric Coordination” and “Bottleneck to Breakthrough: A Permitting Blueprint to Build.”

• The “reports reflect months of rigorous analysis by an exceptional group of professionals who share a commitment to ensuring that America’s energy systems remain reliable, affordable and secure,” said NPC Chair Alan Armstrong.

Permitting: The oil and natural gas infrastructure permitting report, for which the NAM provided feedback before publication, urges significant changes to the permitting process for energy projects, as well as better interagency coordination and the adoption of predictable schedules that both protect the environment and allow the energy sector to flourish.

Gas–electric coordination: The gas–electric coordination report found that the “growing interdependence” of electric systems and natural gas has resulted in “misalignments” that jeopardize system reliability.

• To address these, “the study calls for improved market incentives, operational practices, and accountability frameworks to prevent disruptions that can cascade across the grid.” 
• “Natural gas is the fuel of the future, powering our economy with affordable energy,” said EQT Corp. President and CEO and NPC Committee on Gas–Electric Coordination Co-Chair (and NAM board member) Toby Rice. “This study lays out real, actionable steps to make sure gas and electricity work hand in hand.”

Up next: The council will issue further energy recommendations with its next report from the future energy systems series.

• That “will include forthcoming subcomponents that address longer-term issues related to infrastructure security, technology innovation and analyses supporting U.S. energy trade and competitiveness globally.”

The NAM says: “The National Petroleum Council’s findings align with the NAM’s ‘Manufacturing Roadmap to AI and Energy Dominance ’ and underscore the need to advance comprehensive permitting reform. We thank industry leaders for coming together to outline the way forward, and we congratulate Ryan Lance, chair and CEO of ConocoPhillips, on his election as chair of NPC,” said NAM Vice President of Domestic Policy Chris Phalen.