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Natural gas prices finished up 4.6 cents at $4.07/MMBtu. Weather forecasts continue to point to relatively mild temperatures for the six to ten day period with the majority of the country expected to see average temperatures. [...]
Fundamental Analysis
The EIA reported a 99 Bcf injection into natural gas storage for the week ending 5/10/2013, inside of analyst predictions of an injection from 84 Bcf to 106 Bcf. Working gas in storage was 1,964 Bcf as of last Friday, 694 Bcf less than last year’s 2,658 Bcf stock and 83 Bcf below the 5-year average of 2,047 Bcf. [...]
Technical Analysis
Since our last report posted on March 12th 2013, Natural Gas prices continued on their recent upside sprint that started on Feb 22nd and reached the mechanically derived upside Head & Shoulders price target of $3.89MMBtU originally posted on our report of September 14th 2012. [...]
Regulatory Analysis
In 2013 ratepayers in New York and New Jersey may want to evaluate switching to competitive supply as several utilities lower the mandatory hourly pricing threshold for retail customers. All New Jersey utilities have filed a proposal to reduce the hourly price threshold from 750kW to 500kW effective June 2013. For the same time period, New York utility Niagara Mohawk (National Grid) has also proposed to reduce their respective threshold to 250kW. Another New York utility, Orange & Rockland, will decrease their threshold from 500kW to 300kW in May of this year. Customers on the hourly rate with the utility will be exposed to the volatility of the market when pricing electricity. The potential for steep price spikes often dissuades customers from indexing their energy use, and those that prefer budget certainty will instead migrate to a competitive supplier for a fixed price contract. [...]
Small Business, Big Energy Management
Lots in the news these days about the traction – and funding – energy efficiency programs are gaining in the Northeast and across the country. Just last week Lawrence Berkeley National Labs published a report on an anticipated increase in energy efficiency programs funded by electric and natural gas utility customers, a dramatic doubling to [...]
What’s behind the recent price rise in New England?
Recently we’ve seen basis prices* for natural gas delivered this winter nearly double in New England due to the interaction between demand and supply, and regional factors that affect each. On the national front, other natural gas consuming regions, such as the Northwest, remain relatively stable, with prices near the midpoint of their last 12 [...]
Micro-Grids and Demand Response: Taking a Holistic Approach
Recently, I was fortunate to speak on a panel hosted by Agrion that discussed “Micro-Grids” and how Demand Response is playing a pivotal role in the proliferation of this potential new smart grid paradigm. Agrion defines micro-grids as “self-sustaining power networks within the larger grid system that provide a higher level of local reliability than [...]
Special Delivery – ReCharge NY Allocations are in! – What to do next?
On Wednesday, April 25, many businesses and non-profits across New York found out how much of the electrical power they use would be provided at a discount rate under the “ReCharge NY” program. This economic development plan provides a long-term price signal and commitment (via the state-owned utility NYPA) to employers in that the discounted [...]
Doing Good: Starbucks, Insourcing and Community Service
I was flying back from Florida late last night on Jet Blue, and I caught Howard Schultz on Piers Morgan. Turns out Starbucks announced it is building a new plant in Georgia, insourcing 140 jobs from Latin America. As the interview went on, I learned of Howard’s commitment to public-private partnerships to drive job growth in [...]
ReCharge NY, but Avoid the Seven-year Itch
As many of you know, the “ReCharge NY” program is replacing the old “Power for Jobs” program that has been in place for many years. Both of these programs are economic development plans that provide deeply discounted electricity rates to organizations across New York State in hopes of helping them retain and/or hire more workers. [...]
