Throughout the nation in August, parts of the country faced energy challenges. In New York City, price volatility continues. Con Edison raised gas prices by 8.4 percent and electricity rates by 9.1 percent on August 1. Con Ed wasn’t done, though. These increases will be followed by additional hikes in January of 2024 and 2025.
And in Texas, electricity prices spiked 6,000 percent during the August heat wave. At one point, spot prices increased to $4,750 per megawatt-hour from the previous average of $75. Triple-digit temperatures caused this increase in demand, which led to increased costs.
Innovations, legislation and new energy technology could be the solution for these on-going energy issues. To be more environmentally friendly and save energy, incandescent light bulbs have taken another significant step to being phased out.
With new legislation now in effect, shoppers in the United States will no longer be able to purchase most incandescent bulbs. Incandescents bulbs are turned out LEDs bulbs are turned on. LEDs have decreased electricity demand in American homes, saving people money. LEDs have also helped lower the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions, which warm the planet and are a major cause of climate change.
In August, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline could resume immediately. The 303-mile pipeline stretches from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia and has been slowed because of legal battles over environmental concerns. The completion of the pipeline could speed transition from coal-based energy to natural gas energy.
Fusion energy production could be on the horizon. As a massive breakthrough in the development of clean power, the Lawrence Livermore Lab achieved a net gain in a fusion reaction. Typically, human-produced nuclear fusion outputs less energy than the energy it took to start the reaction.