The program seeks the long-term participation of 15 to 25 LDCs. The cost of participating in OTD is between $250,000 and $750,000 per company per year. Each participating company votes with their funds when selecting projects of interest. In the case where companies fall significantly below the $250,000 range, aggregation can be an option providing it adheres to a set of guidelines approved by the OTD Board. For example, the APGA Research Foundation aggregates the financial resources of its members and participates in OTD as a single company at a cost of $500K/year. This collaboration of LDCs leverages every dollar the APGARF invests in OTD many times over.
The minimum amount determined to sustain a viable gas operations technology development program today is approximately $15 million/year. The goal of OTD is to secure $10 million/year from the LDCs and leverage the funds with other organizations.
The OTD program focuses its technology development efforts on distribution and transmission activities identified by the members. Each OTD member has an individual from their company serving on the OTD Board of Directors and an individual to serve on the Technical Project Committee. The participants vote with their funds by choosing which projects best address their customers’ and utility operations’ needs.
*In a collaborative effort to develop advanced technologies for the natural gas industry, U.S. utilities are combining interests, expertise, and resources into focused R&D projects through Operations Technology Development Company (OTD).
See the APGARF Project Log for details on which OTD projects are being supported by the APGARF. Visit the Gas Technology Institute (www.gastechnology.org)'s Operations Technology Development (OTD)'s website at www.otd-co.org.
Working Group
A. Pipeline and Leak Location
B. Pipeline Materials, Repair and Rehabilitation
C. Excavation and Site Restoration
D. Pipeline Integrity Management and Automatation
E. Operations Infrastructure Support
F. Other