Under current market conditions coal replacement easy to understand, but what about contract obligations?

摘要

It's easy to understand the rationale behind utilities' displacement of coal by natural gas under current market conditions, but what about contract obligations? A U.S. Coal Review source was grappling with the question recently, and, while he accepts the logic behind burning 3.00 per million dollars Btu gas when it beats the price of coal, he was also quick to espouse the virtue of honoring one's contract for coal - particularly if one hopes to buy coal down the road.