{"id":249699,"date":"2026-05-19T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/utilities-are-betting-billions-on-a-technology-that-could-become-obsolete\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:15:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T19:15:07","slug":"utilities-are-betting-billions-on-a-technology-that-could-become-obsolete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/19\/utilities-are-betting-billions-on-a-technology-that-could-become-obsolete\/","title":{"rendered":"Utilities Are Betting Billions on a Technology That Could Become Obsolete"},"content":{"rendered":"

Utilities Are Betting Billions on a Technology That Could Become Obsolete<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/oilprice.com\/Energy\/Natural-Gas\/Utilities-Are-Betting-Billions-on-a-Technology-That-Could-Become-Obsolete.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-19 15:00:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: oilprice.com<\/a><\/p>\n

If we think of electricity purely as a commodity, then we should apply to it the one financial rule that dominates all commodity markets everywhere: the lowest cost producer always wins. The logic behind this is simple. Why would anyone pay more for an identical product, scarcity concerns notwithstanding? If a pound (or kilo) of say sugar was $5 at store A and $10 at store B, it\u2019s no mystery whose inventory will sell out first. The same logic applies to the production of electricity. And, to us, that\u2019s why industry leaders have been so focused on a transition to gas from coal as a boiler fuel. And we\u2019ll get into where renewables fit here in a moment but let\u2019s explore the logic behind the utility industry’s coal to gas transition for a moment.<\/p>\n

(Every time we write stuff like this, we receive a flurry of correspondence from well-meaning individuals suggesting that we are complete morons who know nothing about the adverse environmental consequences of CO2 accumulation in the atmosphere. All we say is please bear with us here because we believe a brief review of recent history may help illuminate our present moment and its technological changes.)<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s begin with a simple question. Are there any obvious advantages for an electric utility to use gas instead of coal in its boilers? In answer, there are at least four major cost and efficiency advantages of gas vs coal:<\/p>\n