THE NEW ENGLAND power grid kept the lights on across the region in January, but at a very high cost financially and in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.
The cost of the electricity on the regional wholesale market was $1.4 billion, double what it was in December ($721 million) and almost triple what it was a year ago ($488 million), according to data gathered by the region’s power grid operator, ISO-New England.
The fuel mix used to generate the region’s electricity also changed dramatically in January, with power plants running on oil producing 12 percent of New England’s power. Over the last year, oil’s share of the fuel mix had never risen above 0.9 percent; in January 2021, it was 0.2 percent.
The higher cost of electricity and the higher dependence on oil were both caused by slightly higher demand (the temperature in January was 2 degrees colder than normal) and dramatically higher prices for natural gas, the primary fuel used to produce electricity in the region.
Natural gas prices hovered near $20 per MMBttu over the course of the month, up from $8.38 in December and $4.97 a year ago.
There had been reports on the high cost of natural gas and the elevated use of oil during January, but the latest numbers, while still not finalized, provide a more complete picture of the region’s dependence on fossil fuels in producing electricity.
Natural gas was used to produce 44 percent of the region’s electricity in January, which is the lowest level in more than a year. Unfortunately, far more of New England’s electricity — 12 percent — was produced using oil, which is a dirtier fuel that emits more greenhouse gases.
The rest of the fuel mix in January consisted of nearly 26 percent nuclear, 10 percent renewables, 5.6 percent hydro, and 1.7 percent coal.
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About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
About Bruce Mohl
Bruce Mohl is the editor of CommonWealth magazine. Bruce came to CommonWealth from the Boston Globe, where he spent nearly 30 years in a wide variety of positions covering business and politics. He covered the Massachusetts State House and served as the Globe’s State House bureau chief in the late 1980s. He also reported for the Globe’s Spotlight Team, winning a Loeb award in 1992 for coverage of conflicts of interest in the state’s pension system. He served as the Globe’s political editor in 1994 and went on to cover consumer issues for the newspaper. At CommonWealth, Bruce helped launch the magazine’s website and has written about a wide range of issues with a special focus on politics, tax policy, energy, and gambling. Bruce is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He lives in Dorchester.
Gordon van Welie, the president and CEO of ISO-New England,
warned in a letter to industry and state energy officials on Monday that the region is walking an energy tightrope with its heavy dependence on natural gas as it waits for offshore wind and other renewables to arrive. He said pipeline constraints often limit the access of power generators to natural gas when the weather is particularly cold, forcing the to depend on other fuels. He said the state faced a dangerous situation in mid-January when a number of the region’s power-generating options were knocked out, and rolling blackouts were avoided only because the weather didn’t remain unusually cold for an extended period.
Current forecasts for February indicate temperatures won’t plunge into the single digits for any prolonged period.
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