Hurless and other state officials say consumers should prepare now, because the first heating bill after a cold snap this fall could be a real shock.
Chris Petrie, chief counsel for the Wyoming Public Service Commission, said there are a number of reasons for the rising price of natural gas. Among them, he said natural gas is tied to the price of oil. People in other parts of the country are changing from heating oil to natural gas. Many global contracts for natural gas are tied to oil prices.
In addition, he said fewer coal-burning power plants are being built because of environmental concerns. He said energy companies are turning more to natural gas to run their turbines.
Less natural gas is available for import, Hurless said. He said Canada is using natural gas to heat oil shale to make petroleum, while the Middle East and Asia are consuming more of their gas."If there is a message here, it's check the windows and do all you can to winterize now," he said.
So, the lack of a comprehensive national energy policy once again comes back to bite us in the ass.
Once I'm finished blaming the usual suspects (I'm looking at you, Bush and Cheney), I'm going to take a long hard look in the mirror and wonder why that guy didn't do more on the conservation side.
1 comment:
Did you see the article -- I forget where now -- that said that on-line porn distributors have seen a huge increase in their business since the stimulus checks began arriving? Gives a whole new meaning to "stimulus checks."
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