Why we’re still using gas, oil to produce electricity
IN DECEMBER, ISO New England issued its annual winter outlook and warned of the precarious state the region’s power system would be in if a prolonged, severe cold snap developed and our energy supply chain was disrupted.
New England has well-documented natural gas pipeline constraints, while transported fuels used by generators, such as liquefied natural gas and oil, depend on a fragile supply chain vulnerable to weather and global price volatility. When New England is facing adverse weather, our neighbors in New York and Canada typically are as well, limiting our ability to count on electricity imports.