Latest EIA short term energy outlook — electricity Go

Posted on 11/16/2009 with 0 comments

Electricity
U.S. Electricity Consumption. Retail sales of electricity to the industrial sector from January through August 2009 were down by an average of 0.34 billion kilowatthours per day (Bkwh/d) compared with the same period last year, with about 35 percent of that decline occurring in the Midwest region. While projected industrial sales begin to recover only very slowly next year, quicker growth in residential and commercial sector electricity sales should push total electricity consumption up by 1.6 percent in 2010.

U.S. Electricity Generation. The projected price of natural gas used for electric power generation rises above $5 per MMBtu by the end of this year, motivating electric power generators who have recently switched away from coal to natural gas to meet baseload generation requirements to increase their reliance on coal-fired generation. Coal-fired generation grows by 0.20 Bkwh/d during 2010, while natural-gas-fired generation falls by 0.10 Bkwh/d.

U.S. Electricity Retail Prices. EIA now expects residential electricity prices to decline only slightly in 2010 in contrast to the expected 1.6-percent decline in last month’s Outlook. This revision in the forecast is due primarily to higher projections for natural gas fuel costs and a slower decline in the price of coal delivered to the electric power sector.