NGSI Version 3.0 Updated Protocol and reporting templates

SLR delivered the latest version of the NGSI Methane Intensity Protocol (Version 3.0) and updated reporting templates for all five natural gas segments, ensuring alignment with current regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

Challenge

The Natural Gas Sustainability Initiative (NGSI) is a voluntary industry collaborative facilitated by the American Gas Association (AGA) and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI). The effort encompasses the upstream, midstream, and downstream natural gas supply chain, and focuses on standardizing reporting of methane emissions intensity.

For consistency and credibility, AGA and EEI desired to update the NGSI Methane Intensity Protocol and reporting templates to incorporate EPA’s revised 40 CFR 98 Subpart W regulation (published May 2024). Updated templates and a reporting protocol provide members with clear, harmonized guidance and tools to consistently calculate methane intensity across the Production, Gathering & Boosting, Processing, Transmission & Storage, and Distribution segments of the supply chain. This update aligns with AGA and EEI’s goal of providing useful, transparent guidance for calculating methane emissions intensity, bringing consistency to a commonly reported metric with no universally accepted calculation standard.

Solution

SLR was selected for our expertise in methane emissions inventories, intensity methodologies, and protocol development across the natural gas value chain. SLR had also developed V2.0 of the protocol, released in 2024. Building on our prior work, we:

• Updated the NGSI Protocol to Version 3.0: Refreshed methodological guidance, definitions, and calculation approaches to align with the updated EPA May 2024 regulation, replacing the September 2024 Version 2.0 methodology for certain sources.
• Modernized Excel Templates (V3.0) for all five segments: Streamlined data structures, clarified units and factors, and improved navigation to reduce user burden and errors.
• The Version 3.0 update was rolled out via a webinar cohosted by AGA and EEI for their members, which included an overview of the key updates and a live Q&A.

Impact

• Consistent, comparable reporting: Members gained a harmonized framework and standardized templates across all five segments, improving comparability of methane intensity metrics.
• Regulatory and voluntary alignment: The updated Protocol and templates now fully incorporate the latest requirements from the revised 40 CFR 98 Subpart W (May 2024), ensuring members are aligned with current regulations and industry best practices.
• User efficiency and adoption: The updated templates and instructional materials decreased onboarding time and reduced common data-entry errors.
• Stronger transparency and governance: Protocol clarifications and documentation strengthened auditability, traceability of inputs, and stakeholder confidence in reported methane intensity results.

NGSI Protocol and Templates can be found on AGA and EEI’s websites:

AGA: https://www.aga.org/research-policy/natural-gas-esg-sustainability/natural-gas-sustainability-initiative-ngsi/
EEI: https://cms.eei.org/en/issues-and-policy/ngsi