The companies most bullish on U.S. power aren’t from the energy industry . They are private equity firms, and here’s why: natural gas. Firms from Panda Power Funds to Energy Investors Funds are financing about 10 gigawatts of new gas-fired plants over the next five years in the 13-state mid-Atlantic grid. That’s enough power to run New York City on all but the hottest summer days. Traditional power companies are building less than 4 gigawatts. Part of the electric grid sits atop the Marcellus shale formation in Pennsylvania , which supplies 18 percent of U.S. gas production, up from 1.8 percent in 2007. Gas from the Marcellus shale deposit is helping boost U.S. production to a record for a fourth year. Growing supplies have cut gas prices in half over the past six years, double the drop in power, leaving investors with a healthy profit margin. Gas plants will […]