Trader Abbie – Natural Gas
The NYMEX front-month natural gas contract settled slightly lower on Wednesday as the market juggled colder weather forecasts and excess supply.
The front-month contract fell 3.6 cents to settle at $2.349/MMBtu, trading within a range of $2.293-$2.384/MMBtu.
“[Natural gas] continues to bounce off the $2.20[/MMBtu] level and is seeing some resistance coming up at the $2.40[/MMBtu] level. Talks of colder weather in the Midwest are giving it a little bit of a lift.”
According to a survey conducted by S&P Global Platts, storage inventories are expected to increase to 108 Bcf for the week ending October 10. This injection sits 27 Bcf above the yearly average of 81 Bcf and sits 26 Bcf above the storage injection level at this time last year.
The most recent 8 to 14-day weather outlook from the National Weather Service calls for a likelihood of warmer-than-average temperatures in the Southwest and parts of the Northeast, with a likelihood of cooler-than-average temperatures in the Midcontinent, Southeast, parts of the Northeast, and Texas.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
More wind, solar and storage could add up to savings for Midwesterners
Do you want to pay less for energy used to run all your electronics? What’s keeping costs high? Would you believe it’s the use of coal, oil and natural gas?
In the Midwest and Great Lakes area, the cost of electricity could decrease by over $48/year for the average residential customer. How? By eliminating the way electricity is priced at the wholesale level.
When oil, coal and nuclear energy were the primary fuel sources, payments for energy were based on the ability to deliver energy quickly. This meant the large fossil fuel plants had to be kept in a ready-to-generate mode.
Today’s wind and solar energy are kept in a ready state without any fuel costs. So, transferring to wind and solar while not paying fossil fuel plants to stay ready would result in large and sustainable cost reductions.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/2019/10/02/report-more-wind-solar-and-storage-could-add-up-to-savings-for-midwesterners/#gref
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 3,415 Bcf as of Friday, October 4, 2019, according to EIA estimates.
This represents a net increase of 98 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 472 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 9 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,424 Bcf. At 3,415 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
NICOR is spending $168 million; increasing your monthly bill.
Just as a chill returns, NICOR plans to increase your heating costs.
NICOR, the largest gas utility in Illinois, asked for $180 million which was reduced in a 3-2 vote by commissioners. Still, the increase is expected to raise every residential customer’s bill by over $3/ month.
This increase is on the distribution side of the bill for the delivery of gas through their pipes. The Illinois Customer Choice Program still offers consumers direct pricing from energy suppliers. Realgy publishes our price compared to NICOR every month; resulting in nearly 5% savings over the last 12 months which is typically between 4-8% monthly. This is about an $85 savings for an average residential customer.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/utilities/nicors-168-million-rate-hike-will-cost-typical-household-3-plus-month
Enormous ‘energy kite’ promises a new way to harness wind power
It takes wind to fly a kite, so why not attach a windmill and generate electricity?
This seems to be the thought process. The business plan is to be able to deploy these energy generating devices (an energy kite) where traditional windmill-based turbines would be impractical; such as in the deep ocean, after powerful storms disrupt power, etc.
The energy kite is launched from a ground station using rotors as helicopter blades until it reaches 800 ft above ground. Once airborne, the system generates power by flying in large circles high up where the wind is stronger and more consistent. Rotors mounted on kite wings drive generators that produce electricity. A strong conductive tether acts like a kite string and carries energy back to the grid. The kite’s flight path is guided by a computer which uses GPS and sensors to make thousands of calculations and adjustments in strong and steady winds.
The idea is phenomenal and hopefully the business plan will follow. By the way – it’s backed by Alphabet (Google’s parent company).
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://makanipower.com/
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 3,317 Bcf as of Friday, September 27, 2019, according to EIA estimates.
This represents a net increase of 112 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 465 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 18 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,335 Bcf. At 3,317 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.