This past February’s long-lasting frigid temperatures throughout much of the country strained energy supplies. In Kansas City, the arctic blast forced utility services to schedule rolling electrical blackouts due to a shortage of natural gas. The subzero temperatures lasted almost two weeks which, according to the National Weather Service, was longer than any other such period for the Kansas City area in at least 11 years.

However, NNSA’s Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC) stepped up to the frigid challenge. Its Facilities team came up with a solution that significantly reduced natural gas use at the facility and, at the same time, helped with the greatly increased demand on the region’s natural gas supplies.

The team, led by Facilities Manager Joe Adcock, switched some boilers from natural gas to diesel fuel, which resulted in a huge reduction in natural gas use at the Campus, and a significant increase in those needed supplies for the community.

“While the decision protected the facility during a natural gas shortage, the end result was an 85 percent reduction in natural gas use. Thereby, it reduced the demands on the area's natural gas supplies during this extreme cold period,” says Joe Adcock, Facilities Manager.

“It is great news when we can help protect our assets at KCNSC while helping the community at the same time,” said Jeff Shoulta, acting manager for NNSA's Kansas City Field Office. “The Facilities team did a great job coming up with this innovative solution.”

That’s NNSA at its best – finding innovative solutions for great challenges.

Energy Fact: In the United States, more than half of residential homes use natural gas for heat. It is also used for cooking, heating water, air conditioning, and lighting a fire. Natural gas is used to generate electricity and was the largest source, about 38 percent, in 2019 according to the Energy Information Administration. The three most significant uses of natural gas are heating, electricity generation, and industrial use.