Several factors have combined to create an imbalance between natural gas supply and demand, which has driven natural gas costs to double this year. Organizations that developed energy procurement strategies well in advance of this year likely locked in long-term natural gas and electric supply contracts in 2019/20 and will be protected from current market pricing increases for now. However, organizations that do not have supply contracts through the winter of 2021-22 will be exposed to natural gas pricing above $6 per one million British Thermal Units (MMBTU), which is the highest pricing seen since February 2014 during the polar vortex.

C-PACE: Why Not Pay Less to Finance Your Sustainable Building?

Fall has arrived, and along with it, more temperate weather across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The shoulder season, as we call it in facilities operations, exists between peak cooling season (late May through mid-September) and peak heating season (mid-October through March). With decreased demand for cooling, and only mild heating demand, the forthcoming weeks bring an opportunity to curb energy consumption by taking advantage of favorable outside air temperatures.