FRIGID CONDITIONS led the region’s power generators to use more oil and coal than usual over the last few days, but as temperatures edged up Tuesday the fuel mix is expected to return to normal.
Typically, coal and oil each account for less than 1 percent of the region’s power generation fuel mix and natural gas is at 41 percent. But when temperatures plummet and the use of natural gas for heating rises, pipeline constraints often lead to shortages of natural gas, prompting some generators to switch to fuels that can be stored on site. Higher use of coal and oil is problematic for the region because those fuels generate more greenhouse gas emissions than natural gas.
Over the last few days, the fuel mix of the region’s power generators has shifted a bit, with oil use rising occasionally into the 11 percent range and coal use hovering in the 5 to 6 percent range, according to real-time statistics gathered by ISO-New England, the region’s power grid operator.
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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.
On Monday at 9:47 a.m., for example, the fuel mix was 41 percent natural gas, 25 percent nuclear, 11 percent renewables, 10 percent oil, 7 percent hydro, and 6 percent coal. Early Tuesday morning, oil use had risen to 11 percent and coal use had declined to 5 percent. By Tuesday evening, oil use had fallen to less than 1 percent, coal use was at 6 percent, and natural gas was up to 49 percent.
Last winter, a 15-day cold spell put severe pressure on generators who relied on natural gas. The deep freeze prompted a lot of fuel switching, with the region burning more oil during that short period than it did in all of 2017 and 2016 combined.
A forecast released by ISO-New England on Tuesday for the next 21 days projects slightly higher temperatures, with “the coldest period so far this winter” ending on Tuesday. “The weather forecast shows an upcoming colder-than-normal period from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1. Natural gas supplies have been supported by significant LNG [liquefied natural gas] injections over the past week. This has resulted in less oil-switching than was originally forecast, and oil inventories were materially unchanged.”
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