Natural gas pipeline disruptions and constraints across the West appear to be on the verge of becoming history as conduits across the region return to normal operating pressure.
Despite Mother Nature fulfilling forecasters' predictions of rain, snow and high winds, Western power prices didn't seem to uniformly respond to the weather cues.
The advent of cooler weather, with possible rain and snow forecast across the West, sent regional energy prices higher at the end of Nov. 14 to Nov. 21 trading. Both power and natural gas prices trended upward as temperatures decreased throughout the week.
The West continues experiencing low amounts of wind generation, which is atypical for this time of year.
With "near-record injection activity" in the April 1 to Oct. 31 natural gas refill season, the national natural gas inventory recovered from low levels at the end of the 2018-2019 heating season, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The EIA estimates working natural gas i…
Cold weather in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountains pushed Western energy prices higher throughout the week.
Southern California Gas Co. returned two long-out-of-service natural gas pipelines to operation and released more details about the projected supply changes that will result.
An end to repairs at key infrastructure locations in the West means natural gas transmission flows have resumed, sending some prices lower, although some lines are not yet at full capacity.
Widespread public power shut-offs are being credited with pushing California natural gas prices higher in the Oct. 3 through Oct. 10 trading period.
The first of October marked the beginning of a new water year that is kicking off with "significantly more water in storage" than in the prior water year, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
While California Independent System Operator demand dropped in the Sept. 19 to Sept. 26 trading period, California power prices posted gains by week's end.
Pipeline constraints and reduced storage at Aliso Canyon, coupled with current inventory levels that are less than 2018's, prompted California Public Utilities Commission Executive Director Alice Stebbins to ask Southern California Gas Co. to "take immediate action" to prevent reliability pr…
With the departure of warmer-than-normal temperatures across the West, regional energy prices deflated over the trading week.
Warmer-than-normal Western temperatures lent support to regional power and natural gas prices, with most hubs posting gains.
Natural gas prices at three California hubs moved above the $3/MMBtu mark as withdrawals were made from regional storage facilities.
Searing, record heat across the western U.S. didn’t translate into higher power demand or prices throughout the week. As temperatures climbed, peak power prices across the West dropped between $6 and as much as $16.10 between Aug. 15 and Aug. 22.
Peak power prices across the West picked up between $4 and as much as $18.25 in trading this week, a portion of which can be attributed to greater California demand and extreme heat across the Southwest.
California natural gas prices are “among the highest” in the continental U.S. this summer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Western energy prices decreased through the trading week on lower electricity demand.
California peak power price increases paralleled higher demand throughout the week, with values climbing more than $20 in trading.
The amount of natural gas used across the United States to meet power demand reached an all-time high of 43.8 Bcf per day July 17.
There was “some price volatility” associated with a series of Southern California earthquakes and aftershocks that occurred over the Fourth of July weekend, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said, but Southern California gas transmission and distribution systems were largely unaffected.
Power prices throughout the West were relatively tame heading into the Fourth of July, with prices generally unchanged over two or three days.
The Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility is at its full authorized capacity and California natural gas prices appeared to respond, with prices softening in trading.
Power/gas prices courtesy of Enerfax
Source: BPA & CAISO
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After pausing operation for its 24th refueling, Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station nuclear plant began ramping up again in the early morning hours of June 21.
Citing cooler weather conditions and customer demand, Southern California Gas withdrew 1.830 Bcf from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility between Jan. 14 and Jan. 23.
Citing cooler weather conditions and customer demand, Southern California Gas Co. withdrew 1.830 Bcf from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility between Jan. 14 and Jan. 23.
Cooler weather triggered higher regional power and natural gas prices in anticipation of increased demand.
Cool Southern California weather forced Southern California Gas Co. to withdraw 0.658 Bcf of natural gas from the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility between Jan. 2 and Jan. 4.
Despite early snowfall, which should typically produce a deeper snowpack, the California snowpack water content is currently below average, which may ultimately affect hydro generation.
California natural gas prices have hinged on supply constraints and weather more than usual in recent months, but an end to some infrastructure repairs appears to have allayed trader concerns, returning values to a relatively normal range.
Power prices saw modest movement during the trading week, thanks to an absence of extreme weather in the West to goad them higher.
Energy use and prices—which skyrocketed in late December and early this month with colder weather across the United States—descended this week as temperatures moderated.
A blanket of Arctic cold enveloped much of the United States this week, sending temperatures down and energy use up across the country.
Colder weather increased heating demand across the western United States, which prompted Southern California Gas to dip into stored reserves at its Aliso Canyon facility.
California’s snowpack is quickly building up as the state expects areas to be deluged with even more precipitation in the coming days.
Rain and snow made the week of Jan. 9 an eventful one across the western United States, but power prices moved little in response.
Rain and snow made the week of Jan. 9 an eventful one across the Western United States, but power prices moved little in response.
Despite wet, cold weather expected across the Pacific Northwest and areas of Northern California into the week of Jan. 9, energy prices seem to be settling in for what may be a long winter’s nap.
Despite frigid conditions across the East Coast, domestic natural gas consumption fell 5.4 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Lower natural gas prices and more gas-fired power plants coming on line are contributing to increased use of the fuel for power generation.
Although temporarily arrested by colder weather last week, energy prices continued to drop in response to persistent oversupply conditions.
The advent of more seasonally typical cold weather across the United States is causing people to turn on the heat.
Mild weather across the Western U.S. continues keeping both natural gas and power prices in check. With continued above-normal temperatures expected to blunt Western demand, the trend may continue.
Natural gas prices across the U.S. are retreating as traders worry about long-term bear-market conditions.
All sectors reported increased natural gas demand for earlier this month, driving consumption up to 111 Bcf/d for the week ending Jan. 14. Consumption by the power sector increased roughly 3 percent week-over-week.
