According to Sabine Schels, a commodity strategist at Merrill Lynch, seasonal swings in fuel prices are becoming more pronounced, thanks to a shortage of refining and storagecapacity.
"Increasing the nation's use of natural gas for electricity generation could result in adverse economic consequences, " the report said, noting that natural gas prices are fickle and that fuel switching on a large scale would require regulators to approve more pipeline and storagecapacity.