US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm (Jennifer Granholm) warned on Sunday that Americans should expect to pay more this winter to heat their homes due to the surge in natural gas prices during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This will happen. This year will be more expensive than last year,” Granholm said CNNof Union state.
“We are in a slightly advantageous position. We will definitely be relative to Europe because their control of natural gas is very important. But we have the same problem with the supply chain in terms of fuel, that is, oil and gas companies are not quickly switching on and off as needed,” She added.
Granholm explained that the Biden administration has been focusing on “short-term and long-term” solutions, such as investing in clean energy to help reduce high costs.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm (Jennifer Granholm) said that Americans should expect to pay higher heating costs this winter due to supply chain issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. pic.twitter.com/O28NtR3Ve7
-State of the Union Address (@CNNSotu) November 7, 2021
Last month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued a report stating that American households that rely on natural gas for heating may spend an average of $746 on heating this winter, an increase of 30% over the previous year. The retail price of natural gas is expected to reach the highest level since the winter of 2005-2006.
Overall, EIA found that compared with last winter, household expenditures on propane are expected to increase by 54%, household heating oil expenditures will increase by 43%, and natural gas expenditures will increase by 30%. Expenses on this will increase by 6%.
“The forecasted expenditure is based on our expectations of high retail energy prices-many energy prices have been at multi-year highs-and energy consumption per household is slightly higher than the previous winter. It is worth noting that due to the COVID-19 outbreak last year Popular,” the report said.
According to Granholm, EIA will release new forecasts for natural gas price increases on Tuesday.
The Minister of Energy also said on Sunday that the Biden administration “hopes” that gasoline prices in certain areas of the country will not reach $4 per gallon soon, adding that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is “controlling the agenda.”
“Every president is frustrated because they cannot control gasoline prices because this is a global market. You can call for an increase in supply, and he has done it. Unfortunately, OPEC is controlling the agenda related to oil prices. OPEC is A cartel, it controls more than 50% of the gasoline supply,” she added.
Biden official Under attack by Republicans Earlier this week, after a video showed her laughing at a party Bloomberg When she was asked about the “Granholm Plan” to increase U.S. oil production, she gave a television interview.
“Oh, my goodness, it’s so funny,” she replied, and once again blamed OPEC for the price increase. “Oil is a global market, and it is controlled by a cartel-the cartel is called OPEC.”
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
According to AAA, the average price of gasoline is now US$3.42 per gallon, and some experts predict that this number may soar by another 50% in June next year.Association spokesperson Tell Weekly newspaper last month The “key driver” of natural gas prices is crude oil.
The spokesperson added that OPEC’s recent decision not to increase global oil production “will only intensify the upward momentum in crude oil prices.”
Granholm said on Sunday that Biden has been weighing all options to address rising oil prices, including the possibility of using the country’s emergency oil reserves, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
“He will definitely pay attention to this, and I think we will pay attention to this in the forecast released on Tuesday,” she added.
