Cool summer softened demand for power

New England energy volatility stems from heavy fossil fuel reliance, natural gas and oil generation, weather-driven peak demand from air conditioning, and a wholesale electricity market sensitive to commodity prices, with renewables like wind emerging.

Electricity use dropped nearly 6 percent in New England in the summer of 2009, a result of cool temperatures and an economic recession that drove down demand, the power grid operator ISO said.

An ISO executive, however, warns that consumers should not be complacent about conservation, because costs come at the whim of a volatile commodities market.

The region's heavy dependence on fossil fuels to generate electricity leaves it vulnerable to such volatility," said Vamsi Chadalavada, chief operating officer of Holyoke, Mass.-based ISO-New England, in a conference call with reporters.

"Since air conditioning is the driver of peak demand in New England during summer months, electricity consumption in the region soars when the weather is hot," he said. "So it's no surprise that demand plummeted this past June and July when it was unusually cold and damp."

ISO, a not-for-profit company, manages the bulk power system and wholesale electricity markets, as outlined in the ISO New England releases 10-year plan for the grid, in the six-state region, whose gas and oil-powered plants generate more than 40 percent of the electricity about double the national average.

And while cheaper coal generates 50 percent of electricity in the U.S. on average, New England gets only about 15 percent of its power from coal.

The dependence on oil and natural gas to generate electricity makes New England prone to sharp price hikes, and initiatives like the emergency fuel stock underscore reliability costs in winter, he said, such as in 2005 when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita temporarily crippled production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

It struck again much of last year when market pressures drove oil and natural gas prices to record highs, a pattern echoed in the UK electricity market as global supply tightened, before taking a dive in the fall.

Investing in renewable energy production is the rage, but challenges remain, and policy efforts like the CT electricity market overhaul are reshaping incentives, said Robert Ethier, the company's vice president of market development.

"I guess I would personally anticipate more of that activity in the future, especially as we move toward a world where we are relying more on wind power," he said "You need a way to bridge that gap."

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