The Comeback of Reddy Kilowatt - Jeff Petrash #5544

Summary: Energy prices have skyrocketed. Who is to blame, and are they going to improve? Jeff Petrash, a lifelong participant in the energy system, chats with me in this episode about natural gas and its centrality to today’s energy usage. Current natural gas prices are the product of multiple factors, including the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. This energy source must be understood from the perspective of supply and demand, and its infrastructure. Tune in for more expert insight.

Highlights: -Natural gas has been doing nothing but going up, and is in the midst of a parabolic move—having a profound effect on the economy -Natural gas has become more important to the economy over the past 20-30 years than petroleum -Current natural gas prices are attributed to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic -During the pandemic, demand for natural gas lowered, so production was decreased -The demand has come back, but production cannot ramp up again quickly -The economist will say that the cure to high prices is high prices -We’re seeing double digit gas prices in Europe, and they’re going to want to cut back on their dependency on Russia as much as possible -ESG bandwagon has tried to divert investments away from fossil fuels -Does it make sense to build an infrastructure that won’t be needed in the next 40 years? -We have a relatively basic industry, but it’s not fully understood

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