Hurricanes, Natural Gas, and the Future of Energy Policy
Posted on September 22, 2005 by oregoncub
Tags, Climate and Conservation
Today the city of Houston is embroiled in the task of evacuating and protecting its 4 million inhabitants as Hurricane Rita moves in toward the Texas coastline. “Rita is poised to severely hobble oil and natural gas production in the Western Gulf of Mexico, coming just three weeks after Hurricane Katrina disrupted activity offshore and onshore Louisiana.” Breaking News from NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index posted Sep 21st. Skies are clear here in Oregon, but today is also the day the PUC is poised to approve large rate increases for the three major natural gas companies serving Oregon, NW Natural (16.6%), Cascade (14.2%), and Avista (a whopping 23.8%).
These increases, one might assume, were directly linked to the crisis occurring down in the Gulf, where the gas for much of the nation is produced. However, there is no direct link between today’s gas price increases and Katrina; Oregon’s natural gas companies purchased most of their winter supply of gas earlier this year. They have contracts, they have gas in storage, they are prepared for the short term. The increases we are seeing primarily reflect the increase in the cost of natural gas on the wholesale market, pre-Katrina! If you, like CUB, are looking ahead to the next few years, this doesn’t bode well for gas customers, those of us reliant on gas to heat our homes, in the post-Katrina market.
Based on rising wholesale natural gas prices, one of Oregon’s large electric companies, PacifiCorp, and the company, MidAmerican, which would like to purchase PacifiCorp, are both discussing a move away from generating electricity using natural gas and toward generation based on—you guessed it—coal (as if coal and natural gas were the only two options). This is a problem. Hurricanes and extreme weather patterns in general have been exacerbated by the effects of global warming. There is little doubt that global warming is being intensified every time we burn fossil fuels. One of the most intensive greenhouse-gas emitting fuels in use currently is coal. The situation is a costly self-perpetuating cycle, a dead-end spiral.
What can you do to help shift the momentum away from this destructive spiral? Here are a few suggestions from CUB:
Get an energy audit of your home. A well-insulated, smartly-heated home can save you significant amounts of money and cut back our national reliance on greenhouse gases by simply using less. If NW Natural, PGE or PacifiCorp supplies your energy, you can call the Energy Trust (503-445-7605) for a free energy audit; if Cascade or Avista is your utility, call the customer service number listed on your bill and they should be able to set up a free energy audit for your home. If you have another utility, call them and ask what energy efficiency programs are available in your area.
Contact your members of Congress. Tell them it’s time to push for a serious energy policy that recognizes global warming and takes steps to create a new economy based on renewable energy sources, as opposed to the recent energy bill which poured tax dollars into the mouths of greenhouse-gas emitting industries.
And for your own benefit:
If you are living without a wide financial margin, get on an Equal Pay Program with your gas company. This evens out the amount of your monthly gas payments so you don’t get hit with a huge gas bill just around or after the Holidays (ouch!)
Our high gas bills are a burden, but a small one compared to the devastation and death the Gulf region has seen in recent weeks. The good news is that we can and should be addressing multiple sides of this issue at once. Global warming, by its very nature, is not just a regional concern, not just an environmental concern, not just an economic concern. We all have a stake and we all need to take action in the ways that we are able.
CUB welcomes your comments and suggestions about other ways to address energy policy and global warming issues.
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03/10/17 | 0 Comments | Hurricanes, Natural Gas, and the Future of Energy Policy