The beneficiaries of high natural gas prices

From Energy Biz:

U.S. natural gas prices are poised to head higher over the long term when commercial demand increases, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

. . .

"Much higher natural gas prices seem likely even though U.S. producers are thought to be sitting on sizable supplies of undeveloped resources," the bank says. "A recovery in U.S. manufacturing should sharply boost natural gas demand. Once LNG imports become the marginal source of U.S. supply, much higher international natural gas prices should prevail."

Higher natural gas prices means rising home heating costs, and increased generation costs, particularly at peak times. This will accelerate the need for utilities to pass time of use pricing and peak price messages down to customers - and that means more intelligent electric meters, such as those provided by my employer, Itron (ITRI).

High natural gas prices will also make competing renewable options as well as nuclear and coal generation more economically attractive. (Areva (CEI.PA), Siemens/Westinghouse (SI), ABB, Peabody Coal (BTU), FirstSolar (FSLR), GE, etc.)

Demand response systems and programs will also get a boost. Utilities and consumers will want to automatically adjust thermostats, and shut off non-essential appliances such as pool pumps to save a lot of money during peak times. This means even more opportunity for companies like EnerNOC (ENOC), and Comverge (COMV) that facilitate these kinds of programs.