Winters

Natural gas and oil prices are no longer connected, and strong gas supplies, the anticipation of warmer winters and a weak economy provide little evidence that prices will reconnect in the near future, according to Ernst & Young (E&Y). However, regulatory pressure to decrease carbon emissions could lift gas demand and prices, E&Y said Monday in its 4Q2009 outlook for the energy industry.

Natural gas and oil prices are no longer connected, and strong gas supplies, the anticipation of warmer winters and a weak economy provide little evidence that prices will reconnect in the near future, according to Ernst & Young (E&Y). However, regulatory pressure to decrease carbon emissions could lift gas demand and prices, E&Y said Monday in its 4Q2009 outlook for the energy industry.

Much of the eastern United States is poised to experience one of the coldest winters in several years, according to AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.

Much of the eastern United States is poised to experience one of the coldest winters in several years, according to AccuWeather.com Chief Long-Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi.

In many places they often say if you don’t like the weather, wait and it will change. From hurricanes to too-warm winters, weather has wreaked havoc on the gas industry in the last couple of years and it continues to dominate gas markets this season.

In many places they often say if you don’t like the weather, wait and it will change. From hurricanes to too-warm winters, weather has wreaked havoc on the gas industry in the last couple of years and it continues to dominate gas markets this season.

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

Soaring gas prices in two of the last three winters have prompted the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) in Illinois to call for state regulatory action to encourage the state’s utilities to improve their risk management practices.

Concluding “Let’s talk about the Weather Week,” WSI Corp. and New York-based Weather 2000 chimed in Friday with their takes on what Mother Nature has in store for the Lower 48 over the next three months. While Weather 2000’s forecast tended to trend with forecasts released by Salomon Smith Barney and the National Weather Service for colder than normal weather through much of the country except the West, WSI’s differed in seeing warmer than normal temps across the northern tier.