An interesting article from our favorite government agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, points out the price sensitivity for electric power generators and their willingness to switch, on a dime, from using one form of fossil fuel to another. A cold snap in November prompted more demand for natural gas from homes and businesses to use in heating, which in turn caused a bit of a supply deficit–meaning prices for natgas went up (double and triple in some cases). Lickety-split power generators in the northeast and Midwest who had been using natgas switched to using coal because of the price change.
