This article was originally published in the July/August 1993
issue of Home Energy Magazine. Some formatting inconsistencies
may be evident in older archive content. | Home Energy Home Page
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July/August 1993 A minor revolution is occurring in the
electricity supply industry. A flood of cheap natural gas,
combined with high-efficiency, low-cost combined-cycle gas
turbine generation units, has made it possible to supply
electricity at very low prices. This is a new technology which
has been promoted by private firms and, to a much lesser extent,
investor-owned utilities. Utilities across the United States are
suddenly discovering that private companies can sell them
electricity for far less than it costs the utilities to generate
it in their existing, large nuclear and coal facilities. What
does this have to do with conservation? Lots. The incremental
cost of new power determines how much conservation is cost-
effective and establishes the scale of utilit