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The near-term energy supply picture in the Pacific Northwest is adequate and wholesale power prices are moderated by a combination of factors including abundant natural gas supplies, according to a revised draft Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) released by Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

In the Pacific Northwest, the near-term energy supply picture is adequate and wholesale power prices are moderated by a combination of factors including abundant natural gas supplies. This was the essence of a revised draft Integrated Resources Plan (IRP) released Friday by Puget Sound Energy (PSE).

Even with the increasingly brighter domestic gas supply picture, the growth of the natural gas vehicle (NGV) market still faces daunting market and regulatory barriers, according to a panel discussion last Thursday sponsored by the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI). Speakers concentrated on what state regulators “should know and ask.”

Even with the increasingly brighter domestic gas supply picture, the spread of natural gas vehicles (NGV) still faces daunting market and regulatory barriers, according to a panel discussion Thursday sponsored by the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI). Speakers concentrated on what state regulators “should know and ask.”

A study commissioned by the state of Alaska paints a picture of rising costs in North American shale gas plays and higher gas prices in the years ahead that lend support to the case for a gas pipeline from the state’s North Slope to serve Lower 48 markets.

A study commissioned by the state of Alaska paints a picture of rising costs in North American shale gas plays and higher gas prices in the years ahead that lend support to the case for a gas pipeline from the state’s North Slope to serve Lower 48 markets.

A study commissioned by the state of Alaska paints a picture of rising costs in North American shale gas plays and higher gas prices in the years ahead that lend support to the case for a gas pipeline from the state’s North Slope to serve Lower 48 markets.

Shale play activity has come on like gangbusters in recent years, greatly augmenting the overall supply picture. Some producers appear dubious about how sustainable even the highly competitive economics of shale drilling are during a period in which gas prices universally have slipped below $4 into the pipe, but many keep shifting rigs into their shale acreage anyway.

Shale gas is a major revolution with broad implications for the nation’s energy picture, according to FERC Commissioner Marc Spitzer and several other speakers Monday at a Law Seminars International’s “Energy in California” conference in San Francisco.