SE PA Natgas Customers See Rates Drop 13.5% Thx to Marcellus
Last winter in the northeast saw record-setting cold temperatures in many locations–particularly in Pennsylvania–and near-record demand for natural gas. That would normally mean the price of natural gas used to heat homes and power businesses would rise–significantly. Instead, if you’re among the 178,000 customers who live or work in one of 15 southeastern PA counties served by UGI Penn Natural Gas, your rates are about to go down–again. How much? By an average of 10.3% as of June 1st and another 3.2% on December 1st (total of 13.5% in 6 months). Why? Because UGI now sources ~90% of its natural gas from the cheap, abundant, clean-burning, homegrown, FRACKED Marcellus Shale. Even with record low temps and record high demand, your price just keeps dropping. UGI customers in other PA regions (northeast and central PA) are also seeing rates drop…
Read More “SE PA Natgas Customers See Rates Drop 13.5% Thx to Marcellus”
Thank God we get some comic relief every now and again by the bizarre antics of anti-drillers. Covering the miracle of wholesome, safe and good hydraulic fracturing and the many benefits to society of natural gas is rewarding, but what makes it fun is to point out the hypocrisy and stupid behavior of those who oppose it. On Wednesday a group of mostly old upstate NY hippies staged yet another protest and illegally blocked the entrance of the future underground propane storage facility near Watkins Glen, NY owned and operated by Crestwood Midstream. Getting arrested in front of the Seneca Lake facility to gain media attention is a regular occurrence (see 
The third shale play in the northeast–or more accurate the Appalachian region–is often referred to as the Upper Devonian layer. An article in Ohio Gas & Oil Magazine calls it “the little brother to Utica & Marcellus.” An apt description. The article is full of interesting facts. Fact #1: the more accurate name is the Burket/Geneseo Shale. Fact #2: 85 horizontal shale wells have now been drilled in the Burket/Geneseo. Fact #3: Early indicators are that Burket/Geneseo wells are not nearly as productive as Utica and Marcellus wells, but since the layer is stacked over top of the other two, why not drill it too? Here’s a few more interesting pickings about the Utica/Marcellus’ little brother…
We finally have the final version of the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) from the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). This is the document that would control where and how (and if) fracking is done in the Empire State. The Final SGEIS (or FSGEIS), a full copy embedded below, is more than 2,000 pages long. No, we’ve not yet read it. But what we do know is that if drillers can drill and frack a well using less than 300,000 gallons of water, it’s permitted under this FSGEIS. Is such a thing possible? Probably not–at least not economically. You won’t make any money, so it’s a moot point. The FSGEIS is not the final document that will be issued. The very last thing to come will be a “Findings statement” by DEC Commissioner (and anti-driller) Joe Martens. According to state law, Martens cannot issue the Findings statement before 10 days from issuing the FSGEIS. Martens knows he’s going to get his rear-end sued from now until he leaves office, so he’ll take his time before releasing the Findings statement, which will essentially say “we don’t have enough science to prove fracking doesn’t harm people or the environment, so the safe thing to do is disallow it for now.” The phraseology he uses will be scrutinized and will be the basis of what we predict is at least several, possibly many lawsuits. Pro-drillers are not going away. Our property rights have been unconstitutionally stripped away. We will fight until we win…