Dive Summary:
- The Independent System Operator (ISO) for New England declared there is not enough natural gas pipeline capacity to fuel residential heating and power generation on cold winter days in the region.
- Utilities are purchasing natural gas for heating purposes with priority contracts, leading to a lower priority for fuel delivery to power plants, who typically buy their gas with a "just-in-time" delivery system.
- The ISO maintained the wholesale electricity market does not properly incentivize power generators to supply energy during peak demand, especially for those that have an unreliable fuel source; despite the problems, New England's dependency on natural gas has lowered electricity prices and slashed emissions.
From the article:
"... The ISO in February filed with federal energy regulators for permission to change the timing of the day-ahead energy market so that it more closely aligns with the natural gas market timeline.
The ISO said this will give generators more time to secure fuel from the gas market to meet their obligations in the electricity market, and will provide system operators additional time to call on longer lead time resources such as coal or oil power plants, if needed. ..."