Electrification and the future of energy security

August 18, 2026 By Austin Wicker 0 Comments

Over the past 20 years, the electrification movement has swept across the nation as the embodiment of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat global warming.

Electrification policies have manifested themselves in multiple forms – statutory greenhouse gas reduction mandates, building code reforms, “beneficial” electrification programs embedded in utilities’ integrated resource plans and state-led initiatives to deploy electric technologies at scale. Ultimately, the end goal is to convert appliances that traditionally relied upon thermal fuels as an energy source to appliances that utilize grid electricity.

Electrification efforts have also extended into efforts to alter power generation sources, moving away from dispatchable sources such as coal and natural gas to solar and wind.

This proliferation of electrification policies has been occurring simultaneously with rapidly increased demand on the existing electric grid. The Department of Energy, the Energy Information Administration and the North American Electric Reliability Corp. have all documented rapidly increasing electricity demand after more than a decade of relative stagnation. That change marks a clear departure from the conditions under which much of the current electric system was planned, when efficiency gains and structural economic shifts kept load growth relatively flat.

This expansion of electrification policies and rising electricity demand is operating in parallel with the continued development of state energy security plans. These plans are nothing new – the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 required states to develop plans that include procedures for responding to energy supply disruptions, coordinating with federal and regional partners, and ensuring the availability of critical energy resources during emergencies. These plans encompass a variety of fuel sources. How they position those fuel sources with regard to security response, however, has been a changing factor.

Numerous state energy security plans evaluate propane as part of their planning procedures. However, many plans appear to position propane as a “given” energy source that can be relied upon regardless of external policies and their impact on the propane industry.

State plans like New York emphasize the need to “coordinate alternative fuel substitution for natural gas and electricity users” during times of energy disruption. Oregon’s energy security plan explicitly states that “even as sectors of the Oregon economy decarbonize in general (transportation, power generation, etc.), emergency response and recovery actions and backup power generation are expected to remain heavily reliant on liquid fuels for years to come.”

What emerges is a reliability gap created through incompatible policies. States continue to encourage, or even mandate, electrification through the residential, commercial and industrial sectors, while, simultaneously, efforts to replace dispatchable sources with weather-dependent sources for power generation continue defiantly in the face of surging electricity demand. At the same time, state energy security planning continues to assume the presence of delivered fuels like propane to provide heat to warming shelters, energy for cooking, backup power for generators at critical facilities such as 911 call centers and hospitals, and as an interchangeable fuel during significant power infrastructure disruptions.

Time and again, the propane industry has withstood every test. In the wake of Hurricane Helene, propane industry members stepped up to provide power, warmth and security to countless communities. However, the industry cannot be expected to serve as the bedrock of state energy security planning when electrification mandates force the industry out of competitive marketplaces.

This is why the National Propane Gas Association has recently published a white paper, “The Reliability Challenge: Electrification and the Future of Energy Security,” to evaluate the growing disconnect between electrification policy, state energy security planning and the role of propane. It’s available on the member dashboard at npga.org.

Lawmakers, regulators and industry advocates should recognize the impracticality of these converging and competing policy priorities and the critical role that propane plays in ensuring a reliable and sustainable energy future.

Austin Wicker is the senior manager of state government affairs for the National Propane Gas Association. Contact him at awicker@npga.org or 502-545-3933.

Featured homepage image: imaginima/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Why propane is the answer to data center energy demand

Propane powers new opportunities for agricultural irrigation

Agricultural trends point to opportunity for propane in 2026