Role of interruptible natural gas customers in New England heating oil markets: A preliminary examination of events in January-February 2000

摘要

During this past winter, especially in January and February 2000, there was a pronounced spike in the price of home heating oil in the Northeast. In response to the rising prices for heating oil, Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson convened public meetings to hear the views of various government, industry, and consumer representatives regarding the factors that may have contributed to supply shortages and price increases in the home heating oil (distillate fuel oil) market, and how future price spikes might be avoided. One possible causal factor identified by some speakers was the purchase of distillate fuel by interruptible natural gas customers whose gas deliveries had been suspended when temperatures turned colder. There was no information presented, however, to provide a basis for assessing the impact of such purchases relative to other factors that may have contributed to the price spike.