Council seeks comments on revised forecasts of prices for natural gas, oil, and coal

July 26, 2007

The Council is seeking comments by August 10 on its revised forecasts of future prices for natural gas, coal, and oil, commodities whose prices affect the future price of electricity.

The Council forecasts higher prices for all three commodities in the future. Contributing factors include devaluation of the dollar against other currencies in recent years; disappointing expansion of supplies; uncertainty about future fossil fuel markets in response to concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts; civil and political unrest in the Middle East that has delayed needed investment in energy production capacity; rapid growth in energy demand, particularly in China and India; and damage caused to the oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico in the summer of 2005.

Fuel price forecasts are an important element of the Council’s Northwest Power Plan, which the Council develops under authority of the Northwest Power Act to assure the region an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power supply. The plan forecasts demand for electricity 20 years into the future and recommends a mix of low-cost generating and conservation resources to meet the demand.

Many organizations use the Council’s fuel price forecasts in their own planning and have been asking for updates. The Council revises the power plan every five years; the last revision was in 2004, and the Council plans to begin the next revision in 2008. The revised fuel price forecasts could serve as draft assumptions in developing the new Power Plan.

Contacts:

• , Director of Power Planning, 503-222-5161
• , Information Officer, 503-222-5161