Generators

Another hot summer, combined with a continued move by power generators to switch to natural gas, has reduced the big storage overhang and should send natural gas prices higher, according to Goldman Sachs.

Although natural gas prices “remain at historically low levels,” producers should tip their hats to gas-fired power generators for doing their part to nudge demand up for the year, according to data released last week by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Although natural gas prices “remain at historically low levels,” producers should tip their hats to gas-fired power generators for doing their part to nudge demand up for the year, according to data released Tuesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Calpine Corp., which is one of the nation’s largest independent electricity generators, has experienced major impacts on its mostly natural gas-fired generation plant fleet from continuing low gas prices, according to senior executives who reported more red ink during a conference call with financial analysts Friday.

In Appalachia, gas from the Marcellus Shale is pushing out in all directions. Producer demand for takeaway capacity is great, prompting Spectra to announce this week its Northeast Expansion Transmission (NEXT) project to serve markets in Eastern Canada and its Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) project to meet New England demand with gas from Pennsylvania.

Much of the northern United States can expect temperatures to average significantly above normal over the next three months, while the Pacific Coast and parts of the Southeast will be cooler than normal, according to forecasters at Andover, MA-based WSI Corp. Below-normal temperatures will become more likely in the East and Central areas by late November, the forecasters said.

One of the nation’s largest independent power generators and an avowed advocate of more natural gas-fired generation in the Northeast, Princeton, NJ-based NRG Energy Inc., will not buy any additional gas- or coal-fired facilities in the current over-heated market, according to CEO David Crane.

One of the nation’s largest independent power generators and an avowed advocate of more natural gas-fired generation in the Northeast, Princeton, NJ-based NRG Energy Inc., will not buy any additional gas- or coal-fired facilities in the current over-heated market, according to CEO David Crane.

PacifiCorp proposes to nearly cut in half the proportion of its electricity that comes from coal-fired generators, along with building a new 637 MW natural gas-fired plant in Utah during the next 10 years, according to a revised integrated resource plan (IRP) submitted to Idaho regulators by the company’s Rocky Mountain Power utility. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will take comments on the IRP, including its plan to cut reliance on coal from its current 62.5% portion of the PacifiCorp portfolio to 36.3% by 2020. For gas-fired generation, the 637 MW Lake Side generation plant is planned to be in place in Utah County by mid-2014, and bids for another gas-fired plant are called for late this year for a facility that can be online in 2016. Over the next 10 years, the proportion of generation from natural gas is expected to increase to 25.5% from its current 11.7% level.