Throttle

Worldwide, and particularly in the United States, utilities have latched onto the sustainability agenda and have begun at full throttle on a trio of top priorities: renewables, nuclear power and energy efficiency, according to the annual survey of utility executives by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

While congressmen and regulators are busy scheduling investigations into high gas prices, consultants at Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA) reiterated in their most recent Monthly Gas Update that they have been expounding the view of prevailing gas market tightness since the late 1990s. “To put it bluntly, barring real warm winter weather or a deep recession, five dollar per MMBtu plus natural gas prices are here to stay for the next few years,” EEA said.

While congressmen and regulators are busy scheduling investigations into high gas prices, consultants at Energy and Environmental Analysis Inc. (EEA) reiterated in their most recent Monthly Gas Update that they have been expounding the view of prevailing gas market tightness since the late 1990s. “To put it bluntly, barring real warm winter weather or a deep recession, five dollar per MMBtu plus natural gas prices are here to stay for the next few years,” EEA said.

Georgia deregulation proved it is in full throttle last week asthe municipality representing the city of Marietta formed analliance with Columbia Energy’s Georgia affiliate, Columbia EnergyRetail Corp. The alliance calls for a 10-year deal with the city ata guaranteed base price of 39.9 cents per therm for one year and acontractual promise to be competitive for the other nine. Themunicipality includes between 30,000 and 40,000 gas customers.