Cool NE summer softened demand for electricity

Associated Press

New England's power grid operator says unseasonably cool weather and the economic recession drove electricity consumption down nearly six percent in the summer of 2009.

And while reduced demand helped lower wholesale prices, ISO New England warns that the region's heavy dependence on fossil fuels to generate electricity leave it vulnerable to future price volatility, as was the case in 2005 after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and again when oil and natural gas prices hit historic highs in 2008.

Holyoke-based ISO said today that gas and oil-powered plants generate about 40 percent of the electricity in the six-state region, about double the national average. ISO says diversifying the mix of energy resources will make New England less vulnerable to spikes in oil and natural gas costs.