Natural gas ascending quickly as fuel source for electric grid
If you want to see the rise of natural gas in power generation,
you need look no further than the most recent annual reading of
the PJM Interconection. PJM is the regional transmission
organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale
electricity in all or parts of 13 states – including all of
Pennsylvania – and the District of Columbia. Formed in the
1920s, PJM is responsible for coordinating and directing the
flow of electricity to keep the lights on for about 60 million
people in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kenturcky, Maryland,
Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.
That’s a lot of power to generate from PJM’s members, which
include Duke Energy, Duquesne Light, American Electric Power,
FirstEnergy and others. According to an analysis of PJM’s
generation by fuel source in gigawatt hours, power generators
increased their use of natural gas by 35 percent bet