Amy Anderyszak, President & CEO, The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)
Interview and summary by Genneca Houser
Amy Andryszak is President and CEO of INGAA, a trade organization that advocates for the natural gas pipeline industry. Amy talks about INGAA and what role they play in policy making through building relationships. The bottom line is that Sir Francis Bacon was right, knowledge is power and so the best way to advocate for a cause is to help others understand.
“The first step is really to create relationships with those policy makers and to create opportunities to educate them about your industry…So, we educate them about the natural gas pipeline and energy infrastructure industry so they understand how we work, what makes us work, and what type of policies make sense…” – Amy Andryszak
We discuss the levels of understanding for policy makers when it
comes to the facts of the industry, and there’s also some discussion
about the role a lack of understanding or education plays in current
policies and legislation.
“I think generally when people have a better
understanding it makes for better policy and, you know, really the
largest component of advocacy is education.” – Amy Andryszak
The conversation circles around to how Amy got introduced into the industry. Interestingly, she began with a desire to have a focus on politics, from there Amy eventually got hired as a lobbyist on behalf of all of the subsidiaries for The Lowe’s Corporation, including in the energy sector. Eventually, Amy settled her ambitions in advocacy – not just for natural gas, either. Amy is also a volunteer for EverybodyWins! DC.
“I would say my interest in this arena started more from an interest in politics and advocacy more so than an interest specifically in the energy industry.” – Amy Andryszak
Amy speaks about what she believes every American should know about their energy: the source. There’s discussion about the demand for more infrastructure for our energy industry and regulations for it. In case anyone was wondering who it is that oversees these regulations, Amy talks a bit about that as well.
“…Policy making leadership seems as if they want to potentially have more regulations in place and don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying all regulations are bad. I mean, you want to ensure that any new infrastructure that is built in this country is done so in a safe way… ” – Amy Andryszak
For those who may not know, INGAA is different than the INGAA Foundation and Amy is President of this foundation as well. She speaks on the difference between the two organizations which is namely that the INGAA Foundation is for the use of studying and gathering information regarding the natural gas use and safe pipeline construction. In fact, the INGAA Foundation recently release a brand new study in January studying the energy trends and the shift from Covid.
You can find the study HERE, along with all the other studies!
“The general result of that
study was that; yes, that once we emerge from this covid lockdown that
we do anticipate continued need and demand for energy infrastructure in
this country.” – Amy Andryszak
Knowing where our energy comes from may not be common knowledge. So, Amy breaks down the “Natural Gas Value Chain” and INGAA’s role within it representing mid-stream portion. Then, she discusses the transport process and where natural gas gets transported to once it’s been processed in a factory.
“So, think of us as sort of the highway system of natural gas pipelines… we move gas from parts of the country where it’s produced to parts where it’s consumed.” – Amy Andryszak
So, based on the conversation it seems like natural gas demand is high right now, and will continue to be relevant. It also seems like the best way for a positive political discussion regarding oil and gas will best come from education and people willing to advocate for the companies and individuals in the energy industry working to keep the lights on.
Resource Links
INGAA FoundationPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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