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The September wholesale natural gas contracts fell $0.041 or 1% after the EIA reported a slightly larger-than-expected 50 Bcf build in storage, bringing inventories to 2.83 Tcf (175 Bcf below year-ago levels) compared with the 25 Bcf injection for the week ending August 5. It seems that the milder temperatures in the Northeast and slightly less extreme heat in Texas contributed to the faster injection pace this past reporting week versus last week’s. The 25 Bcf increase implies a 3.5Bcf-4Bcf/d drop in demand, primarily from the electricity generation sector. Crude oil prices tumbled as traders feared that we may be on the brink of another recession and the stock market plunged on worries of a global slowdown. The September natural gas contract is higher this morning as weather doesn’t seem to letting up in Texas and some hotter temperatures in the 1-5 day forecasts in the Midwest and parts of the Northeast.
In ERCOT service territory yesterday, Texas’ grid operator issued a warning after power reserves dipped below 2,500 megawatts. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the electric grid for about 85 percent of the state, reported power demand hit 67,444 at 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon, nearing the expected high of 67,734 as triple-digit weather swept across the state. A Level 1 emergency, the lowest in ERCOT’s warning system, is issued if reserves drop below 2,300 megawatts. If ERCOT issues a Level 1 emergency, it will call on Texans to conserve power, began bringing online all available power plants and tapping neighboring power grids, including those from Mexico.
In the lone star state this week, retailer Champion Energy Services has repeated as the highest-ranked retail electric provider for Texas residential service under J.D. Power and Associates' annual customer satisfaction survey. Champion Energy recorded a score of 745 on a 1,000 point scale. J.D. Power said that Champion performed particularly well in the price and billing and payment categories. Following in the rankings are Spark Energy (740) and StarTex Power (739). J.D. Power said that StarTex Power performed particularly well in the billing and payment and customer service factors. The survey was based on responses from more than 8,100 residential customers of electric retailers in Texas, conducted between September 2010 and June 2011. Overall satisfaction among residential customers of electric retailers in Texas has increased to 659 on a 1,000-point scale in 2011, up by 25 points from 2010 and 30 points from 2009. While J.D. Power said that satisfaction has improved in 2011 in all four factors examined in the study, satisfaction with price improved most notably to an average of 644, increasing by 34 points from 2010. During the past several years, customer-reported bill amounts have declined steadily from a median of $167 in 2009 to $156 in 2010 and $150 in 2011. These price decreases are primarily due to declining natural gas prices, J.D. Power said. J.D. Power also reported that satisfaction with the billing and payment category has improved considerably, up 31 points from 2010. Contributing to this increase is a shift in payment methods, with a higher proportion of customers choosing to pay their utility bill electronically rather than by mail.
On the deregulation front, In Maryland this past quarter, (March 2011 to June 2011), Baltimore Gas & Electric saw residential natural gas migration growth of nearly 10,000 accounts. The percent of residential gas accounts at BGE served by a competitive supplier increased from 13.7% in March to 15.3% by the end of June. While in Pennsylvania, the new residential price to compare will be 11.14 cents per kilowatt-hour, beginning October 1. That compares to a current Price To Compare of 10.42 cents per kWh for usage up to 500 kWh, and a Price To Compare of 11.69 cents per kWh for usage over 500 kWh.
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