The winter energy shortage

 Reuters:

This winter the U.S. Northeast faces its highest energy costs in more than 25 years due to tight heating oil supplies and fierce global competition for liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes.

Throughout 2022, consumers have been socked with higher costs for everyday items, including groceries and gasoline. The winter could bring more pain, with heating costs nationwide set to soar as much as 28% from last year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) winter fuels outlook.

During long, cold winters, the U.S. Northeast consumes more oil and gas for heat than most of the country, especially the six-state New England region. Residents of Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island paid about 36% more for gas and 58% more for power than the rest of the nation over the past five years, federal government data showed.

Exacerbating those high energy costs, New England lacks enough gas pipeline capacity to meet all its heating and power generation needs on the coldest winter days.

So New England power generators rely more on heating oil and LNG than other parts of the country, and prices for those already expensive fuels spiked this year after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, as global supplies ran short due to supply disruptions and sanctions on Moscow.

Residential consumers in New England are expected to pay an average of 26.3 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity and $19.90 per thousand cubic feet for gas in January 2023, up more than 15% from last year and the most on record for both during January, according to EIA data going back to 1997.

"While most U.S. regions are somewhat insulated from elevated global prices by access to central continental gas production, New England remains an 'energy island'," analysts at investment banking advisory Evercore ISI said, referring to the limited capacity of the region's gas pipes.

"The worse conditions get for Europe, the more exposed New England will be to elevated gas prices and LNG cargo shortages this winter."
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Biden's energy policies have been a rolling disaster.  He limited US production which drove up the world market price and gave Russia a windfall which Putin used to launch aggression against Ukraine which led to sanctions and limited Russian supplies which further drove up costs elsewhere.  Biden is still limiting some US production and pushing the fantasy that we should do without oil and gas.  The US and the world need a return to the Trump energy policies.