Natural gas not the key to energy future

Big utilities have been using their big ad budgets to try to convince the American public that natural gas is the salvation for our country’s energy concerns. Quite simply, it is not.

While we do have large shale deposits in the U.S. that contain natural gas (extracted via a controversial technique called hydro-fracking), much of the natural gas we burn is imported from Canada. In fact, Canada is the primary supplier of both natural gas and petroleum to the United States. Our nation is not nearly as dependent on the Middle East as the gas companies want you to believe.

Heating oils, gasoline, diesel and natural gas are all global commodities. They are shipped around the world to the markets that want these resources most. As the U.S. increases its production of natural gas, we will also continue to compress it, load it into cargo containers and ship it to the global markets that will pay the most for it. It is a basic fact of economics: as the demand for natural gas increases, the price will increase, as well. And inversely, as demand for petroleum fuels is displaced by natural gas, the price of the petroleum fuels will go down. It’s not debatable, it’s economics.

If you are a homeowner and you are concerned about the cost of energy, the gas companies would have you believe you should convert from home heating oil to natural gas. While their advertising promotes significant savings, it is also laced with legal disclaimers warning consumers the savings are not guaranteed. The truth is, if you have a 15-, 20- or 30-year-old oil system heating your home, you will benefit from significant savings by upgrading your equipment. However, you can get a modern, clean, efficient oil-fueled system and still get the same type of conservation savings. More importantly, you will not have to incur the cost of conversion, which in many cases is quite significant.

There are other factors to consider about gas and oil.

– Oil is clean-burning. Modern systems and low-sulfur fuels have resulted in a very clean energy source that produces near-zero level emissions. Gas, while clean-burning, has a transportation loss rate of nearly 15 percent when it’s pumped through the pipeline system — that 15 percent leaks into our atmosphere and is a major source of harmful greenhouse gas.

– Oil is safe. Oil does not explode. Gas can explode at concentration levels as low as 4 percent, and is the leading cause of death through carbon monoxide poisoning in the U.S.

– Oil is affordable. Despite market fluctuations, heating oil has been the less-expensive option 93 percent of the time in the last 40 years.

– Efficiency ratings of new oil heat systems rival that of gas at 95 percent efficient, but the life expectancy of an oil system is nearly double that of a gas-fired heating unit.

– Oil is stored on your property and you can guarantee your seasonal supply. We have all witnessed how long it can take a utility company to react to a storm or natural disaster.

– Oil is delivered throughout the state to homes big and small by local business owners and their employees. The large utilities continue to cherry-pick the developed parts of the state that are easy and profitable for them to service, while leaving the remaining residents of the state out in the cold.

Before we invest in a system the deep-pocketed, monopoly-driven utilities insist is best, we would be wise to consider making conservation-oriented decisions based on facts, and not on hype generated by an overzealous marketing machine. Visit www.energyanswerstoday.com or www.americanenrgycoalition.com for more information about energy use and conservation strategies.

Roy Friedman of Fairfield is president of Standard Oil of Connecticut.