Low natural gas prices are expected to continue to exert downward pressure on electricity prices this summer, although there could be more volatility in Southern California, Texas and Boston, where power-generation capacity reserves are tighter, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's summer assessment.
The natural gas surplus and sub-$2-$2.50/MMBtu prices are expected to step up the switching of generation facilities from coal-fired to gas-fired, according to FERC's "Summer 2012 Energy Market and Reliability Assessment" report, which was presented Thursday at FERC's regular meeting, Natural Gas Intelligence reported.
