THE REGION’S POWER GRID OPERATOR issued a report on Thursday forecasting that New England’s thirst for electricity will remain flat for the next decade, but the fuel source for that power will tilt fairly dramatically toward natural gas.
ISO-New England, the grid operator, said it is forecasting that total annual use of electric energy will not increase in New England over the next 10 years, although peak demand in the summer months is likely to increase .6 percent annually. Peak demand is important because the grid operator pieces together power-generating resources to cover peak demand.
The fuel sources used to meet the region’s power needs are likely to shift fairly dramatically over the next decade. The grid operator said natural gas accounted for 43 percent of the region’s power generation last year, a percentage that is forecasted to rise to 49 percent in 2018 and nearly 57 percent in 2024.
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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.
The report said the flat energy demand forecast is due to energy efficiency efforts in the six states and the expansion of solar power. Solar power resources totaled 908 megawatts of so-called nameplate capacity, meaning 908 megawatts is the amount of power that would be generated if the solar panels operate at 100 percent capacity. In fact, solar facilities average about 40 percent capacity during the summer, meaning the electricity output is significantly less than the nameplate amount. Other reports have put the year-round capacity at about 13 percent.
In the report, ISO-New England said the region’s heavy reliance on natural gas carries risks in the form of reliability issues if the supply of natural gas is disrupted and higher prices for electricity when natural gas supplies fall short of demand and prices skyrocket.
The Baker administration is attempting to address natural gas concerns by authorizing local electric utilities to solicit contracts for natural gas capacity from companies proposing pipelines into the region. A request for proposals was issued on Oct. 23 and pipeline companies are expected to respond by Nov. 13.
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