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The October wholesale natural gas contract rose yesterday $0.066 after the Bureau of Minerals and Resources reported that 2.2 Bcf/d of Gulf production remains offline after Tropical Storm Lee. The natural gas market was expecting more of that production to have already returned back to production as of yesterday. While weather forecasts continue to keep temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest below average in the 6-10 and 11-15 day forecasts and in Texas temperatures continue to be warmer than normal in the 6-10 day forecasts. Currently temperatures in the South are running 6°-to-12° below-normal this week. Tomorrow’s EIA storage data is expected to show a build in the low-60s Bcf, range with an initial Bloomberg survey around a 64 bcf injection due to lower supply from the Gulf of Mexico which offset reduced eastern demand following Hurricane Irene. The storage build would once again be slightly higher than the same week a year ago, keeping the deficit at less than 140 Bcf versus last year’s comparison.
In Maryland this morning, Baltimore Gas and Electric says it has restored service to all customers who lost power due to Hurricane Irene, except for a few individual outages. Although the BGE website showed nearly 900 customers were without power on Monday morning, BGE says those outages came in after the hurricane while there may be situations where the utility believes it has restored service but later finds another problem exists. On Sunday, with hundreds of households and businesses remaining without power because of Irene, BGE officials said they were working to restore electricity to all of those with storm-related outages by the end of the weekend.
In Connecticut today, ninety-nine percent of Connecticut Light & Power customers in the region had electricity by Monday evening, making history of lengthy outages and all the inconveniences they entailed. Also as of Monday evening, less than 1 percent of customers in all southeastern Connecticut towns were without power. CL&P said it is on track to complete restoration by Wednesday, a full day ahead of its original estimate after Tropical Storm Irene left much of the state in the dark. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend, those who endured days without electricity put their generators away, restocked their refrigerators and continued to clear tree limbs and brush from their yards. Federal and state officials say preliminary estimates show that Irene has cost Connecticut and local communities at least $15 million in overtime and damage to public buildings. Late Friday, President Barack Obama issued a declaration of disaster for five Connecticut counties, including New London and Middlesex. The Federal Emergency Management Agency subsequently declared the remaining three, Hartford, Tolland and Windham eligible for disaster assistance. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Monday that residents who suffered storm-related damage must register with FEMA by phone or online. Help is available to cities and towns, businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.
After the recent hurricanes these past two weeks, it seems that modern day magicians and miracle workers are rolled in one given that electric utility workers risk their lives in one of the most hazardous jobs in the nation by handling power lines coursing with enough energy to turn sand into glass just so the lights come on when we flip a switch. More of a calling than a career, line work requires a combination of physical strength and mental acuity not seen in almost any other occupation. It seems that these line workers all have sharp minds, calloused hands and an easy-going nature. Our own local ex-line worker Barney Farnsworth, Senior Director of Electricity Supply at MXenergy states that, “forget hurricanes, ice storms are the worst for line workers”, a 10 year veteran line worker and transmission supervisor with RG&E who has climbed poles, built and repaired power lines. It seems that the reasons for picking their profession seemed to be a fascination with electricity at an early age, loved outdoor work and had admired someone they knew who worked with power lines. When natural disaster’s hit coastal areas such as hurricane’s or ice storms, these linemen begin a process of that involves a lot more than flipping a circuit breaker. Line workers have to set up DOT-approved work zones, establish barricades and make sure the public doesn't wander into their work area. Line workers have to aware of their surroundings and pay attention to every detail of their job. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics repeatedly ranks lineworkers in the top 10 most dangerous jobs in the nation. In 2008, 30 out of every 100,000 line workers died on the job, an employment mortality rate higher than police officer and firefighter.
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