U.S. coal-fired power generation is set for a short-term recovery this summer as higher prices of coal’s main fossil fuel competitor, natural gas, will discourage parts of gas-fired electricity generation. Natural gas prices are rising this year, and traded above $3 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) early on Monday, compared to less than $2 / MMBtu at this time last year. Reduced natural gas production and record-high American exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) have fueled a rally in natural gas prices since the start of the year. The winter storms in February, which triggered the largest monthly drop in U.S. natural gas production on record, primarily due to freeze-offs in Texas, also played a part in rising natural gas prices as inventories drew down quick amid record residential consumption demand. As a result, going into the summer months, the cost of natural gas delivered to electric generators […]