New England’s natural gas constraints will continue to be a concern in 2015, as demand increases from power plants and Connecticut’s plan to turn natural gas into the home heating fuel of choice. Organizations like power grid administrator ISO New England and the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection will help mitigate the problem by offering various alternatives, but the real relief won’t come until 2017 when the expansion of pipelines transmitting natural gas into New England will be complete.
Even though natural gas pipeline constraints will be a concern in the colder months, the increased use of the fuel will continue to spell problems for the region’s power plants that don’t run on natural gas. The relatively low cost of the commodity means wholesale power prices are dropping, making power generators that run on coal, oil, and uranium less economically viable.
New England already has seen power plant retirements in Bridgeport, Vermont, and Massachusetts, and the shifting market dynamics could lead to further closures. The nuclear Millstone Power Station in Waterford still appears to be operating without difficulty, but the potential loss of the region’s biggest power generator would have significant impacts on electricity pricing and reliability.
Connecticut’s increasing requirements calling for renewable energy to make up a greater portion of the state’s electricity profile — moving toward 20 percent by 2020 — will put upward pressure on electricity rates. The situation also creates more opportunity for solar installers, fuel cell makers, biomass plants, wind developers, and hydroelectric dam revitalizers to make money. Meanwhile, as more of these systems come online, Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating will have to figure out new pricing models to sustain the grid even as more businesses and residents produce their own onsite power.
