New England winter -- it comes every year -- I guess it's worse now with all this global warming -- has resulting in soaring energy costs. Who wudda guessed?
The Wall Street Journal is reporting:
The price of natural gas delivered to New York City and the mid-Atlantic states soared to a record high on Tuesday, as a snowstorm brought freezing temperatures to the Northeast U.S., and traders worried about a potential drop in supplies of the heating fuel.
Natural gas for delivery Wednesday soared to $135 per million British thermal units at Transco Zone 6, a pipeline delivery point in New Jersey where New York City gas prices are set, according to IntercontinentalExchange Group Inc.
On Friday, prices traded between $10 and $25 per million BTUs.
Other pipelines, including the Iroquis Gas Transmission System that brings gas from eastern Canada to the New York City area, posted similar milestones by midday Tuesday.
The surge in prices for the second time this month underscores concerns about the infrastructure needed to transport natural gas from booming shale fields to densely populated areas when the heating fuel is needed. Traders expect greater demand for natural gas to heat homes and office buildings, as an Arctic blast brings snow to the East Coast.
The National Weather Service projects "moderate to heavy snow from the central Appalachians to New England" over the next two days. Prices typically spike to between $40/mmBtu and $50/mmBtu in periods of cold weather, analysts said. But Tuesday's sharp climb beat a previous record of $90/mmBTU for the hub set on January 6, 2014, when another Arctic blast stoked gas demand.When I was growing up, we had a term for this: PPP. Piss-poor planning.
By the way, these Arctic blasts are now being referred to as Algore solar cortex events (ASCE).
Earlier reports suggest that New England will not have the needed pipeline in place until at least 2016.
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