I was too late - someone re-posted before I managed. No matter, it was useful info and the more that read it the better. I am now reversing the deed and copying a link from the Norwegian forum to this one - a story directly related to your original theme. Here's a copy of the text and a link for confirmation...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=a55kW0aMg1nE

Southern Shifts to Natural Gas From Coal for Power (Update3)


By Katarzyna Klimasinska

Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Southern Co., the largest U.S. electricity producer, will probably boost its use of natural gas for power generation 24 percent this year as the commodity’s low price makes it more attractive than coal.

Southern, based in Atlanta, estimates it will use about 310 billion cubic feet of gas this year, compared with 250 billion burned “normally,” as gas below $5.50 per million British thermal units becomes more economical than coal, Chief Financial Officer Paul Bowers said at a New York conference today.

The company has 42,607 megawatts of generating capacity, 68 percent of which uses coal and 16 percent which relies on oil and gas, according to Southern’s Web site.

Natural gas for October delivery rose 13.6 cents, or 3.8 percent, to $3.745 per million British thermal units at 11:11 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The commodity traded at $2.409 per million Btu on Sept. 4, the lowest intraday price since March 2002.

Gas prices declined 72 percent from a 30-month high of $13.577 per million Btu in July last year, as the recession cut demand. That encouraged power producers to use more of their gas-fired fleets and plan for new gas turbines.

Southern rose 2 cents to $31.81 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Progress Energy Inc., based in Raleigh, North Carolina, said on Aug. 18 it plans to replace three coal-fired units with a gas-fired facility near Goldsboro, North Carolina. New Orleans-based Entergy Corp., the second-biggest U.S. operator of nuclear power plants, said yesterday it’s considering a new combined cycle natural-gas turbine in Texas.

The price of coal from Powder River Basin mines in Wyoming and Montana, the largest U.S. coal-producing region, declined 24 percent to $8.75 per ton in the last 12 months.

To contact the reporter on this story: Katarzyna Klimasinska in Houston at kklimasinska@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: September 23, 2009 16:18 EDT