Live Update

Good Afternoon…..

This is George Hutchinson….

Bringing you a live energy update

From our HBS studios

Located in a remote area of…

New Jersey

This Thursday afternoon

June 11th

The year 2015

Before we get into the current market conditions

Let’s take a minute to look

At some of the factors

That has led up to this point

It has been a crazy couple of months

Many people say…..

The energy market

Has developed a mind of it’s own

After starting out with a mild winter

We got hit with colder than normal temperatures

During the months of

February and March

This helped to push energy prices up

The gas nymex

Came close to hitting $3.00

It also had an adverse effect on Basis pricing

January 2016 basis

Was running over $7.00 a dekatherm

As cooler than expected spring temperatures hit

In April and May

We started seeing prices

Drop

Making the market

More attractive

You could hear the chatter starting ……

Maybe the summer was not going to be

That hot after all

Prices continued to drop

The door was opening

Was the bottom going to fall out

Record storage levels

Were being recorded

Then….

Sometime during

The end of last week…..

The weather gods

Started talking about

Temperatures going into the

High 80s…..

Possibly the low 90s this week

Immediately

The market corrected itself

Ohhhhh

Maybe it is going to get hot after all

Prices started to rise

Nymex jumps 10 points

Next day

Nymex jumps another 10 points

The market is up again

As I bring you this update

As I often say….

Timing is everything

But the old adage

Still rings true…..

What a difference a day makes

Stay tuned for further updates

Natural Gas Prices Drop

It looks like the natural gas market

Has shaken off the fears

Of having a cold winter

Once again this year

After beating the drums

For 11 months

Driving up market prices

Now

That winter is here

The market sees no fear

And has been in free fall

Not to say

That things could change

Remember we are dealing

With the fickle energy market

We have heard many times

Timing is everything

Well you can’t say

I didn’t tell you

If you are currently

With the local provider

Or

You are floating with a 3rd party provider

Now’s the time to lock in on savings

Market prices are well below

What you would be paying

For those businesses

Who use gas

To heat their buildings

Statistics show

You use about 60% to 70%

Of your annual natural gas usage

Between the months

November and March

To heat your building

One cold snap

Can push prices thru the roof

It is smart to protect yourselves

During these high usage months

By locking into a competitive

Fixed rate contract

Give us a call

Or shoot us an email

We are here

To help you save money

Natural Gas Soars On Fears of a Polar Redux

As reported in Wall Street Journal

By
Tim Puko

A repeat of last year’s snowy, Arctic-cold winter is looking a little more likely today. Natural gas traders, still scarred by the memory, are bunkering in.

Buyers have been rushing into the gas market for a week on fears of a sequel to last winter’s Polar Vortex, which walloped the eastern half of the U.S. with brutally cold temperatures from the deep south up to New England. Many spent months dismissing that possibility as simple panic, but now meteorologists are getting more pessimistic.

Both Commodity Weather Group and WeatherBELL Analytics LLC released long-term forecasts this week showing a notably higher risk for a cold December. That was supposed to be relatively mild month this winter, balancing out a cold January and February. Now the whole winter is shaping up to be “pretty nasty,” WeatherBELL said.

That has propelled natural gas to a six-session rally. It’s rebounded nearly 18% since it hit its 2014 low last week. Gains of nearly 3% Tuesday are pushing it near a three-month high.

And traders are all wondering if the winter of 2015 will bring a repeat of 2014.

“I think it’s a reasonable risk,” said Matt Rogers president and meteorologist at Commodity Weather Group in Bethesda, Md. An early season burst of cold starting next week is already “really spooking a lot of people.”

More than half of all U.S. homes use natural gas as their heating fuel, making the natural gas market especially vulnerable to weather. Tepid demand had capped the market for four months and had bankers and investors fearing a glut by the spring. The new forecasts have flipped that script, at least temporarily.

Timothy J. Collins, director at Fairfield Advisors LLC in Madison, N.J., has had to get out of spread bets that depended on falling prices in January, he said. He is now trying to buy into positions that would benefit from rising prices that month, but he still thinks that record production will help balance out the fear of a Polar Vortex repeat, he said.

“I think people are overly sensitive to it,” said Mr. Collins, whose fund manages $35 million. “You know how they say the military is always trying to fight the last war? Well, we keep trading the last position.”

The rally could produce bargains for stock investors, said Jonathan Waghorn, co-portfolio manager at Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc. in London. Its $84-million fund holds Chesapeake Energy Corp., QEP Resources Inc. and Ultra Petroleum Corp, among other oil and gas producers that could benefit from rising gas prices balancing out free-falling oil prices.

“Gas is strong, yet the energy equities names are all getting hit,” Mr. Waghorn said. “If you believe the gas story, today’s giving you a good opportunity to pick up some energy names getting smashed by weak oil.”

The Dash

A couple of months ago

I attended a funeral

During the Mass

The priest read a poem

Written by Linda Ellis

Simply Titled….

The Dash

The poem seemed to be

The topic of conversation

After the service

I never heard that before

That was very profound

It really made me stop and think

When we look at a gravestone

We only see

A name

A date of Birth

And…

The date they passed away

Between the 2 dates

You will find….

The dash

The little dash stands for

Everything that was accomplished

During their lifetime

What do we do to fill our dash

What have we passed on…

To our family….

Friends….

Co-workers….

All who we meet

What is our legacy

What did we do with the gifts

We were given

This is the measure of our dash

How do we want to be remembered

If given the chance to write

Our own epithet

What would it say

Do we live to fulfill

The words we would write

Live Your Dash!

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.”

Turning Tables

Several weeks ago

I spoke about the projected

Increase of gasoline prices

Over the upcoming months

Experts were predicting the price

Of gasoline could reach…

The dreaded $4.00 a gallon mark

Before the summer hit

At the same time….

We were seeing

Natural gas prices

Continuing to fall….

The thought was….

That the Nymex (gas out of the ground)

May be heading…..

Back under $3.00 a decatherm

Well……..

The experts were wrong

The price of gasoline in NJ

Has been dropping

Over the past few weeks

Today I saw it listed for

$3.379 a gallon

(Don’t forget that last 9

You are not paying $3.38 a gallon)

Gasoline prices are….

Down about 25 cents

Do you think we can head into the low 3s?

Possibly sneak under $3.00 a gallon

With summer insight…

That could be a stretch…

Think of all those cars

Heading for the shore

Stay tuned…….

Natural gas prices

On the other hand…

Have jumped

Over the past 3 weeks

Near the end of February

The Nymex was around

$3.15 a decatherm

The talk was….

That the Nymex

Could be heading under $3.00 a decatherm

Surprise….Surprise….Surprise

With little or no warning

The nymex took off running

As of this writing

It is $3.965 a decatherm

Poised to break the $4.00 mark?

That is a 25% jump…

In less than a month

There is little or no support

To this Meteoric rise

Yeah, we had some cold weather

After all, it is winter

December and January

Were fairly mild

It did get cold in

February and March but…

The overall winter

Has not been that cold

Spring started yesterday

That tells me the weather will be….

Getting warmer

With warmer weather

The demand will drop

They are still dealing with

Abundant supplies

The nymex should settle down

And start dropping again

Don’t change the channel

We will keep you updated

With any breaking news

For more information contact us

george@hbsadvantage.com

Smart Solutions for Smart Business

Chance of Snow

Seems like this is the one phrase

We have been hearing a lot

Lately

Here it is the beginning of February

And we have had no…

Major accumulations

I love hearing the

Projected winter snowcast

They give back in October

By our calculations

We see several cold fronts

Moving thru

Over the next couple of months

With these cold fronts…..

We see several major storms

Being caused by the El Nino

Now sitting

In the Pacific Waters

Total projected accumulation
During the next couple of months

Will be….

Drumroll please…

From 25 to 35 inches

A few years ago

We almost hit the

25 inch mark…

The week after Thanksgiving

In fact we had 3 major storms…

Bringing over 50 inches of snow

By New Years

I wonder what they said that year?

This year

Ho Hum…

Where is the snow?

I feel sorry for all the people

Who ran out and bought

Brand new snow gear

Seems to be just….

Taking up space

Remember when we used

To go out

And buy snow tires?

Whatever happened…

To snow tires….

Or did you used to put….

Chains on your tires?

Meanwhile…

It seems the cold

Has finally

Settled in

The deregulated energy market

Has remained…

Fairly stable

There are still

Great opportunities

For savings

In the natural gas

And electric markets

If you have been hesitant

To look at these deregulated opportunities

This is a good time to….

Dip your toe in the water

You will like what you see

I wish I could say the same

For the gasoline market

The price of gasoline

Has jumped over 30 cents…

Just in the last few weeks

People are no longer saying…

Fill it up

With regular

It’s back to….

Can I have $20 of regular

There is speculation

That gas prices may even

Make the push

To the dreaded…

$4.00 per gallon mark

Over the next month or so

That will make for a

Long summer….

Driving

Back and forth

To the shore

How many times

Will we have to stop for gas

If we keep getting…

$20 refills

Supply and demand

They have the supply

And we demand…

Lower prices

Will we ever see gas….

Under $3.00 again

Here’s hoping

We are doing our best

In the deregulated energy market

Saving our clients’

Thousands of $$$$$

Does anybody

Know someone…

In the refinery business…

We could all use some

Savings on the road

For more insight contact george@hbsadvantage.com

Smart Solutions for Smart Business

Brrrr!

If you are heading out

In the next couple of days

You will see that winter…

Has finally come to visit us

The Highs are expected…..

In the low 20s

Adding the wind chill factor…

You will feel like it is…

In the single digits

Be sure to grab your scarf and gloves

And

Don’t forget to put a hat on…

It is said that….

You lose 90%

Of your body heat…

Thru your head

I thought that fact was recently….

Proven to be false?

A scientist did a study and found

There are no facts to support it

I said put a hat on…

Don’t you know there is a…..

Flu Epidemic going on

Do you want to listen to someone…

Experimenting on heat loss

Thru the head

Or

Be sick in bed for a week

I also heard…

There was a cold snap….

In California recently…

I saw student athletes

Having to wear sweat pants and gloves

To soccer practice

Because it was 55 degrees out

Can you image that?

Poor kids……

With all this cold weather rushing upon us

I checked to see how

The deregulated energy market

Has reacted

It has been relatively…

Unfazed

Yea it’s cold….

But there has been no extended

Cold temperatures

The deregulated

Natural Gas and Electric

Market prices..

Although not at the floor…

Have only risen slightly

And are still near….

A 10 year low

Starting off the New Year

Looking for savings

You will definitely find it….

In the…..

Deregulated Energy Market

Give us a call to find out more

And don’t forget…

To put a hat on

Smart Solutions for Smart Business

For more insight email george@hbsadvantage.com

Visit us on the web http://www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

The Rumbling Started………

Back in September

Right after Labor Day

Future forecast show

We are in for……

A cold winter

Thus began the long trudge….

Natural gas prices

Started inching up

In October

The drumbeats started

Beating louder

Forecasts are calling

For a cold winter

Natural gas prices

Inched up

A bit higher

All this was happening

As Natural gas storage levels

Remain at….

An all-time high

Future supplies are poised

To make the US

The world’s largest

Natural gas supplier

New finds and

Refined extraction methods show

We have over 100 years

Of natural gas reserves

November starts….

The drums keep beating

Forecast show that it is

Going to be

A cold winter

Prices inch up a bit higher

All the while

We have been experiencing

Higher than normal temperatures

Here it is January 2013

We have had some cold weather

But no long term stretches

Of cold weather

They are already forecasting

That beginning next week…..

A warm front will be coming in

And hanging for a couple of weeks

All this has created a

Natural gas market

Phenomena

The index

(The base cost of natural gas

To all providers)

Started to drop

So much for the higher prices

HBS has been working with our clients

Keeping them apprised of the opportunity

For the savings this presents

The basis (transportation cost)

Is inverted

That means the longer you go out

The less expensive it is

We have never seen this

In the 12 years we have been

Servicing the deregulated market

By locking in a

3 to 4 year

Basis position

Clients have been able

To add more certainty

To their future

Natural gas cost

This will allow the client to

Concentrate on managing the cost

Of the Nymex

ie: (gas out of the ground)

During the highest usage months

November thru March

For most clients

That is when 75% of their

Annual natural gas usage

Is consumed

Feel free to contact us…..

To learn more about

How you are able

To save in the deregulated

Natural Gas and Electric markets

Start the New Year off with Savings

That will always bring a

Smile to your face….

Hutchinson Business Solutions

Smart Solutions for Smart Business

For more insight contact george@hbsadvantage.com

Visit us on the web http://www.hutchinsonbusinesssolutions.com

Gas Prices could soon drop 50 cents

10:59 PM, Oct 20, 2012

USA TODAY – Autumn gasoline prices are about to drop faster than fall foliage.

With inventories rising and demand waning, gasoline prices could plunge 50 cents a gallon from October’s $3.86 peak average over the next few weeks, providing a lift for the economy and possibly becoming a factor in next month’s presidential election.

Gasoline, now averaging $3.69 a gallon, is expected to fall to $3.35 or lower by late November. In some regions, prices have already sunk below $3.

“Most of the country is heading appreciably lower the next few weeks,” says Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service, who notes wholesale prices in some key markets have dropped from as high as $4.35 a gallon to $2.71. Pump prices typically lag big wholesale drops. But Kloza expects retail prices to sink five to 15 cents a gallon over each of the next three weeks.

The drop could provide a boost to consumer spending and influence next month’s presidential race, where gas prices have been a hot-button issue for much of the campaign. Several battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are enjoying big price drops.

“Certainly, lower gas prices are helpful in terms of consumer spending by increasing disposable income,” says Brian Bethune, chief economist at Alpha Economic Foresights. “And if prices come down at a rapid rate in the next three weeks, that would tend to help the incumbent. It may not be logical, but if people see problems with the high cost of food or gas, it’s the president who tends to get the blame.”

Gas prices have remained stubbornly high well past their traditional Memorial Day weekend peak, due largely to supply shortages and refinery woes on the West Coast and Midwest. But with oil inventories rising and production issues ebbing, prices have been easing the past week, a trend likely to accelerate. “This is very much gravity at work,” Kloza says. “The faster prices soar, the more prone they are to panic sell-offs.”

Kloza expects prices to bottom in the $3.30 range. Gasbuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan and energy analyst Brian Milne of Telvent DTN see a $3.35 bottom. Barring rising troubles in the Middle East or refinery issues in the U.S., prices could remain in that range through early 2013.

On Friday, gasbuddy.com was tracking some central Ohio stations selling gas for $2.97 a gallon. Gas prices remain stubbornly high in California — the nation’s priciest state averaging $4.51 a gallon — although some stations are charging more than $5. Energy experts expect prices to bottom in the $4 range. “California is not completely out of the woods yet regarding supplies, and their refineries haven’t been able to keep up,” Milne says.