Posted on 09/14/2005 4:24:25 PM PDT by calcowgirl
CALIFORNIA IMPACT: Although the state's utility doesn't buy directly from the Gulf Coast, the coming shortage there will cause higher prices here
Home heating bills in Northern California will leap by an estimated 40 percent this winter as a result of the loss of natural gas production when Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf of Mexico.
That's the steepest increase since fraud and deregulation caused a major spike in 2001, and it's especially painful because of the higher gasoline prices consumers already have suffered as a result of the hurricane.
The average monthly gas portion of a Pacific Gas and Electric bill is likely to soar from $107.83 in January 2005 to $152.71 next January, the utility estimated.
Natural gas rates could go up as soon as next month, but PG&E says the real impact will be felt in winter, when temperatures drop and people begin using their furnaces. Prices already have risen about 20 percent per year for the past three years.
PG&E said virtually all of the 4.1 million households it serves use natural gas to heat their homes and their water.
The Gulf of Mexico supplies as much as one-fourth of the nation's natural gas, and even though California does not buy gas directly from the Gulf Coast, the coming shortage is likely to cause higher prices across the country. Prices in the Midwest are likely to surge as much as 71 percent this winter, the federal Energy Information Administration said last week.
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman toured parts of the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, telling reporters, "There is great concern about natural gas." The region's gas production is down 38 percent from before the hurricane, according to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, who accompanied Bodman.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Los Angeles Times, September 14, 2005
Duke to Close California Plants The move is part of a plan to shut the firm's wholesale power and trading business.Duke Energy Corp. said Tuesday that it would close power plants in California as part of a plan to shut its money-losing wholesale power and trading business.
The company, based in Charlotte, N.C., said it would be unable to turn a profit in its Duke Energy North America subsidiary without risking more money in trading and marketing.
Duke's California plants are in Oakland, Monterey County, Morro Bay and Chula Vista and together can produce more than 4,400 megawatts of electricity, according to the company's website. That's enough to serve about 3.3 million typical homes.
The company will sell a total of 6,200 megawatts of generation, including power plants in Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, Missouri and Ontario, Canada, along with its power-trading contracts, spokesman Peter Sheffield said. Duke will take a third-quarter pretax charge of about $1.3 billion.
"Achieving our objective of break-even for Duke Energy North America by the end of 2006 is not realistic without taking on an extraordinary amount of additional risk," Duke Chief Executive Paul Anderson said in the statement.
Duke, which is acquiring Cinergy Corp. to expand its traditional utility business, started paring its wholesale unit after the bankruptcy filing of Enron Corp. and the collapse of wholesale electricity prices in 2001 and 2002. The company sold the wholesale unit's power plants in the Southeast for less than they cost to build.
In July 2004, Duke reached a $207.5-million settlement with California and several utilities in the state to resolve allegations that the company overcharged for power in the summer of 2000.
I also heard that the prices for heating will soar this winter in California.. Big Furry Robes, Coats, Fireplaces and something warm to drink will be less costly!
I guess it depends where you live. I lived in San Leandro for 14 years. That whole area – Hayward, Oakland, San Jose – they have about two weeks/yr where you wish you had A/C and about two weeks/yr you turn the heat on.
But then, at the time I moved to San Leandro I went there via Wyoming, Montana, and Portland – so I like it more coolish than hottish.
I’m now in southern CA. I don’t think I wore a long-sleeved shirt or long pants over the last 18 months. I’m close enough to the coast that it cools down nicely at night, but it’s too GD hot in the daytime for my taste, even now when it’s relatively mild... I'm counting the seconds until I can be roughly 114.16 miles north of where I am now...
Ugh - not far enough. 1014.16 miles. I measured it on my GPS unit...
Ah, most winters we don't even bother to turn on our heater. No need for it. Haven't had a fire in the fireplace for 4 years or so. But I must say, it looks nice when lit.
Hopefully those areas won't be impacted by soaring heating costs but who knows?
"Ah, most winters we don't even bother to turn on our heater."
Now, just hush!!! When it's 25 outside (with a wind chill of -10) here in Amarillo, all the hunkering down and cuddling in the world won't stave off the cold! If we can get by with $150 a month for those two really cold months, I'll be happy!
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
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