1…2…Punch

The polar vortex punch

 

Keeps punching

 

 

This week we saw

 

Temperatures plunge….

 

Once again

 

 

It may have been nice….

 

The first time around

 

 

 

But by now…

 

 

People seem to be getting

 

A little groggy

 

 

It’s time to change the channel

 

 

 

As I stated last week

 

The energy market did react

 

To the plunging temperatures

 

 

Basis (transportation cost) went up 1000% in 1 day

 

 

Over the past year

 

 

Basis pricing

 

Has been at a 10 year low

 

 

The jump in pricing

 

Had many experts just shaking their heads

 

 

They were finding themselves in…

 

 

Unchartered waters

 

 

This was beyond whiplash

 

 

 

We do not see these prices sustaining

 

 

If you look at natural gas futures

 

A couple months out

 

Prices tend to be

 

More reasonable

 

 

 

You just do not want to

 

Be shopping your account

 

And include the present month energy pricing

 

In the mix

 

 

For it will skew the whole proposal

 

And you will end up paying a premium

 

 

 

They say…

 

Patience is a virtue

 

 

In this business

 

You need it

Polar Vortex

Let’s take a look

 

At our extended weather forecast…

 

 

Well…

 

 

Tomorrow is going to be cold

 

 

 

The next day…

 

Should be just as cold

 

 

Possibly colder

 

 

 

Then

 

The day after that…

 

 

Will probably be just as cold

 

 

 

However, we also show that

 

There could be a chance of….

 

 

Freezing rain…

 

 

It might be snow…

 

 

Or

 

 

Possibly a Wintery Mix

 

 

 

This can all bring icy conditions

 

 

 

 

Let’s be careful out there

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s take a minute to look at

 

 

What may be causing

 

 

This weather pattern

 

 

 

Normally

 

We would be looking to the

 

 

Western Pacific

 

 

 

However it seems that La Nina

 

 

Is taking the winter off

 

 

 

Instead…

 

 

We have been visited by

 

 

A polar vortex

 

Pushing down from the Artic

 

 

 

In the first two weeks of 2014

 

 

Much of the United States weathered

 

A cold snap of unprecedented proportions…

 

 

 

A weather phenomenon known as…

 

The “Polar Vortex”

 

 

Shattering temperature records across the country

 

 

 

Just when you thought it was safe

 

To go outside…

 

 

 

Another polar vortex is on the way

 

 

This one is due to hit

 

 

This week

 

 

 

 

Is this a new phenomenon?

 

 

 

I thought it was just cold outside

 

 

 

Because it is…

 

 

January

Meanwhile…

 

The energy markets

 

Have been in a reaction mode

 

 

 

Put a name on the weather conditions

 

 

And they are all in

 

 

 

Prices jump

 

 

 

You wait a day…

 

 

They jump again

 

 

 

You wait a few more days

 

 

Prices start to ease back down

 

 

 

 

Prices never come down…

 

 

As fast as they go up

 

 

 

With another polar vortex

 

 

On the way

 

 

 

You can almost hear

 

 

The energy market’s teeth clattering

 

 

 

While all this is happening

 

 

 

We find it best

 

To look past

 

The frenzy

 

 

One thing I have learned

 

 

Being in the energy business…

 

For 13 years

 

 

 

Patience is a virtue

 

 

 

Our goal has always been

 

 

 

To educate our clients

 

 

And…

 

 

Provide the best opportunity

 

 

For savings

 

 

 

 

With a lower basis (transportation) cost

 

 

And increasing natural gas supplies

 

 

 

Most experts feel

 

 

Natural gas prices will settle down

 

 

 

Once again bringing

 

 

Great opportunities for savings

 

 

In both

 

 

The Natural Gas and Electric markets

 

 

 

We just have to wait for the Polar Vortex

 

 

To pass

Polar vortex: How will it affect your utility bill?

As reported in Christian Science Monitor

By             David J. Unger, Staff writer / January 8, 2014

The polar vortex gripping the nation is as unpleasant for utilities and grid operators as it is for you. What does the polar vortex mean for your next utility bill?

What happens when much of the nation simultaneously reaches for the thermostat and turns up the heat? Energy prices rise.

With Americans shivering through a “polar vortex,” utilities and grid operators are scrambling to meet demand amid record low temperatures. A stressed power grid and constrained natural gas pipelines are already pushing up the price of electricity and natural gas on wholesale markets.

The good news is that consumers are relatively insulated from the polar vortex’s temporary price shocks (besides the obvious cost increase of turning the heat up for a prolonged period). The bad news is that if this is the first polar vortex of many to come, that prolonged grid strain and need for new infrastructure will almost certainly make its way into the bottom line of your monthly utility bill.

“Most retail customers are set up through regulated natural gas rates for this reason – so that short-term spikes in the spot price don’t automatically flow through,” says M. Tyson Brown, statistician at the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). “To the extent that this is a long-term trend – that really affects the price people pay.”