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Energy Insider Blog

Natural Gas Supply Shortage Concerns Have Eased

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Dec 23, 2014 10:54:00 AM

Massive contrast between colder than normal temperatures in Nov-2014 and above normal temperatures in Dec-2014 have caused very high price volatility in the Natural Gas futures market. Shifts in weather forecasts and record production have been the main price action drivers during the first half of the winter.

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Topics: system operators, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, risk management, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, demand response, energy regulations, energy savings, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, energy management, energy management consultants, strategic energy sourcing, reserve margin, energy price spikes, Price Spike, energy blog, power outages, Natural Gas Supply, NG Demand, energy supply, Winter Weather, demand, scarcity pricing, current outlook

2014-2015 Winter Weather, What to Expect?

Posted by Alberto Rios on Oct 9, 2014 11:59:00 AM

During the fall, meteorologists sharpen their assumption to build their probability weighted winter weather forecast scenarios. From an energy perspective, this is also a critical time of the year. Since it is typically a period of low energy demand, there tend to be seasonal dips that provide good buying opportunities in natural and electricity. This year though, natural gas prices have been seesawing since mid-July 2014 due to the following reasons:

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Topics: Heating Season\, Polar Vortex, Texas Energy, forward curve, winter strip, spot price, energy risk management, energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, energy, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, Event, energy management, energy management consultants, strategic energy sourcing, reserve margin, Price Spike, energy blog, power outages, Natural Gas Supply, price volatility, reserve, report, energy storage, NG Demand, seasonal drought, energy supply, EIA, Texas, Winter Weather, U.S. energy, NG, forecasting, refueling season, NG contract

5 Things to Monitor for the Balance of 2014

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jul 28, 2014 10:20:00 AM

A brutal cold start of the year has been followed by moderate temperatures across the country. Natural gas prices have risen significantly since early January 2014, as inventories were being depleted at a faster than normal rate due to higher than normal heating demand. Nevertheless, record production and tepid demand after the spring months triggered a massive selloff in mid-June 2014, with the front month losing more than 20 percent to date. Early concerns of tight supply conditions ahead of the next heating season have eased due to weekly record or near-record injections. Electricity prices have also plunged not only because of the recent drop in natural gas prices, but also because of a drop in heat rates. In Texas, peak load had not been this low in June and July since 2010. Low electricity demand has depressed spot and forward heat rates.

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Topics: energy risk management, energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, risk management, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, demand response, energy reliability, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, Event, economic demand response, energy management, energy management consultants, strategic energy sourcing, Hurricane Season, reserve margin, energy price spikes, renewable energy, Price Spike, energy blog, power outages, Natural Gas Supply, price volatility, reserve, report, energy efficiency, mild weather, energy storage, NG Demand, seasonal drought

ERCOT's Latest CDR Report Shows Higher Reserve Margins: How Will This Affect Regulatory Policy?

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Mar 5, 2014 10:15:00 AM

On Friday, February 28, ERCOT published its 2014 Capacity, Demand and Reserves (CDR) report. Resource adequacy has been at the forefront of ERCOT’s electricity policy debate. Forecasting future demand is critical for planning purposes to determine how much generation will be needed in future years to meet peak demand. Resource adequacy concerns have prompted the PUCT to approve mechanisms that increase the duration and frequency of scarcity pricing signals in ERCOT to support adequate generation development in the state.  One measure, that has also encouraged some Commercial and Industrial customers to take advantage of higher prices through prices response (load shedding and Distributed Generation (DG) dispatch), is the October 2012 decision to increase the system-wide offer cap to the following levels, effective on the dates below:

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Topics: ERCOT, risk management, Energy Solutions, energy procurement, demand response, energy reliability, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, reserve margin, energy price spikes, energy blog, reserve, report, energy efficiency, U.S. energy, PUCT, forecasting, CDR, capacity, demand, load shedding, distributed generation, scarcity pricing, current outlook

Crude Oil and Natural Gas Top Commodity Performers in 2013: Natural Gas Price Action Recap

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Feb 14, 2014 8:43:00 AM

During this winter season, natural gas price volatility has been extreme as temperatures have fallen to unprecedented levels due to the breakdown of the polar vortex. Low temperature records were broken across the U.S., natural gas heating-related demand has risen and natural gas inventories have been depleted at a faster rate when compared to historical benchmarks.  Nevertheless, natural gas has not been the most volatile commodity in recent years according to the U.S. Global Investors Periodic table of Commodities Returns. In the last 10 years, the most and the least volatile commodity returns have been registered in Nickel and Gold respectively. Crude Oil has been a top three performer in four of the last 10 years, while natural gas has only been in this category two out of the last 10 years.   

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Topics: Polar Vortex, energy risk management, energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, demand response, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy savings, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, Event, energy management, energy management consultants, energy price spikes, Price Spike, energy blog, power outages, Natural Gas Supply, price volatility, Winter Weather, curtailment, Emergency, NG contract

Highest NYMEX Natural Gas Expiration in Four Years: Tough Risk Management Lesson for Some

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jan 31, 2014 5:16:00 PM

On January 2, 2014, the NYMEX Henry Hub NG February-2014 (front month) contract settled at $4.321/MMBtu, and on January 29, 2014, the contract expired at $5.557/MMBtu (see chart below). This was the highest expiration settlement price for the front month in four years. During the month of January, the front month contract rose $1.24/MMBtu, or 28.6%. The chart below shows that on expiration day (1/29/14) the front month price posted a $0.52/MMBtu or 10% gain for the day. The March 2014 contract followed suit and rallied almost 11%, settling at $5.465/MMBtu. During the expiration day, weather forecasts turned colder than previously expected, so market players that underestimated demand rushed to the market and were clobbered in a short squeeze.

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Topics: energy risk management, energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy, Energy Solutions, energy procurement, reliable energy, demand response, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy savings, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, energy management, energy management consultants, energy price spikes, Price Spike, energy blog, Natural Gas Supply, price volatility, energy supply, U.S. energy, NG, curtailment, Emergency, gas gross production report, price direction, NG contract, NYMEX

NG Spot Prices Reach Record Levels and Boost Power Prices During January 2014

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jan 24, 2014 5:17:00 PM

Two ruthless surges of arctic air, east of the Rockies, have taken over the eastern half of the country this month. The latest forecasts suggest that this weather pattern will continue to linger through the end of the month. Sub-zero temperatures are expected in the upper Midwest cities and the great lakes, including Chicago, Minneapolis and Detroit and possible below zero temperatures as far south as the Ohio River. Factoring in wind chill, temperatures are expected to be 20 or 30 degrees below zero. This weekend a couple of Canadian clippers will be followed by another arctic surge through mid-next week with conditions that could rival those from January 6, 2014. A Canadian clipper (a.k.a Alberta clipper) is a storm system during the winter months that originates from the Canadian Province of Alberta (or there close by). The term "clipper" originates from the quick speeds of clipper sailing ships.  Thus, an Alberta clipper is a quick-moving winter storm system originating from Alberta, Canada. A clipper will usually bring smaller bursts of snow (generally 1-3 inches) along with colder temperatures and often times gusty winds (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

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Topics: energy risk management, Acclaim Energy Advisors, risk management, energy, Energy Solutions, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, demand response, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy savings, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, Event, energy management, energy management consultants, energy price spikes, Price Spike, energy blog, energy supply, Winter Weather, U.S. energy, Peak Demand, mid-atlantic, new england, NG

Natural Gas Market Supplies Tighten On Higher Than Normal Draws- Are You Protected Against Price Spikes?

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jan 21, 2014 10:18:00 AM

So far, the 2013-2014 winter has been exceptionally cold across the eastern half of the U.S. Arctic outbreaks and the bitter cold winds from the Polar Vortex have spilled across major natural gas consuming regions. Massive draws from inventory have been needed to meet surging demand for heating from the residential, commercial and electric power sectors. This season has been characterized by withdrawals that have been much larger than average.

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Topics: Heating Season\, Polar Vortex, energy risk management, energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, risk management, energy, energy procurement, demand response, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, natural gas, energy management, energy management consultants, energy price spikes, Price Spike, energy blog, Natural Gas Supply, energy supply, U.S. energy, capacity markets, refueling season

More Nuclear Power Plants to Refuel in 2014 Compared to 2013: How Could This Affect Natural Gas Prices?

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jan 17, 2014 1:34:00 PM

Platts recently reported that the 58 U.S. nuclear power plants totaling almost 60,000MW are expected to refuel in 2014, compared to 54 units totaling over 55,000MW in 2013. The analysis is based on historical refueling data from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

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Topics: energy risk management, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, energy procurement, reliable energy, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, energy management, energy price spikes, Price Spike, power outages, U.S. energy, capacity markets, nuclear units, power plants, refueling season

Winter Storm Hercules-Boosts Near-Term Demand for Natural Gas

Posted by Jennifer Chang on Jan 3, 2014 12:59:00 PM

Midwest and Northeast residents have not experienced an arctic blast of this magnitude in more than a decade. The system has moved eastward from Illinois through New England. The all-time record low in Chicago of -11˚F was recorded in 1994 and temperatures on January 6 are expected to be -6˚F, very close to such record. Not only is the storm dumping considerable amounts of snow (5” - 12”), but it is also bringing frigid, below normal temperatures with the coldest air so far this season. Temperatures are expected to be between 20˚F - 40˚F below average in large parts of the continental U.S. through next week. Moreover, sustained 15-50MPh winds are expected, so blizzard warnings have been issued in Cape Code and Long Island. An additional storm behind Hercules will keep temperatures well below normal through early next week.

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Topics: energy sourcing, Acclaim Energy Advisors, energy management consulting, risk management, energy, Energy Solutions, energy procurement, weather outlook, reliable energy, energy regulations, energy reliability, energy savings, energy costs, power generation, Weekly Energy Insights, energy management consultants, Texas, dynamic load optimization 365, DLO 365, Winter Weather, U.S. energy, exports

   

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