(Mon, 06 Aug 2018) New EIA data series indicate that total electricity sales in Puerto Rico have returned to pre-Hurricane Maria levels as of April and May 2018 after the longest blackout in U.S. history. However, residential electricity sales appear to continue to lag historical levels, reflecting some continued outages.
(Fri, 03 Aug 2018) The 661 million short tons (MMst) of coal consumed in the electric power sector in 2017 was the lowest amount of coal consumed since 1983, and 2017 was the fourth consecutive year that U.S. coal consumption and coal shipments by all transport modes declined. Nearly 70% of the coal consumed in the power sector in 2017 was shipped either completely or in part by rail, with the remainder shipped by river barge, truck, and other methods.
(Thu, 02 Aug 2018) Over the past decade, natural gas production in the Appalachian region has grown faster than capacity to move the gas into U.S. markets, pushing down local prices. More recently, pipeline infrastructure from Appalachia has increased capacity to deliver Appalachian natural gas to regional market, increasing relative spot prices at Appalachian hubs, and narrowing their price spreads relative to the U.S. natural gas price benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana.
(Wed, 01 Aug 2018) Fuel ethanol production capacity in the United States reached more than 16 billion gallons per year, or 1.06 million barrels per day (b/d), at the beginning of 2018, according to EIA's most recent U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity report. Total listed, or nameplate capacity, of operable ethanol plants increased by 5%âmore than 700 million gallons per yearâbetween January 2017 and January 2018.
(Tue, 31 Jul 2018) On July 18, 2018, electricity demand in the area served by the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) reached a new all-time hourly peak load of 72,192 megawatts (MW) during the hour starting at 4:00 p.m. That record was itself surpassed the following day during the hour starting at 5:00 p.m., with load reaching 73,259 MW. The previous record of 71,111 MW occurred on August 11, 2016. Despite some sporadic power outages, ERCOT managed this new record demand without any widespread loss of load to the system.
(Mon, 30 Jul 2018) U.S. energy expenditures declined for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $1.0 trillion in 2016, a 9% decrease in real terms from 2015. Adjusted for inflation, total energy expenditures in 2016 were the lowest since 2003. Expressed as a percent of gross domestic product (GDP), total energy expenditures were 5.6% in 2016, the lowest since at least 1970.
(Fri, 27 Jul 2018) Inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes both diesel and home heating oil, were 117.7 million barrels at the end of June, the lowest end-of-June level since 2004. Distillate inventories have generally been lower than the previous five-year (2013–2017) average throughout 2018. Relatively low inventory levels reflect growth in distillate consumption during 2018 that has not been fully offset by increased domestic refinery production or by lower net exports of distillate.
(Thu, 26 Jul 2018) EIAâs <em>Short-Term Energy Outlook</em> (STEO) revised its standard set of figures in its July 2018 publication. To provide more clarity on changing natural gas and hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) markets, two new natural gas figures and four new HGL figures are now included with the monthly forecast. Many of the figures previously included in STEO have been redesigned.
(Wed, 25 Jul 2018) As the worldâs top producer of energy-intensive goods, Chinaâs energy consumption is tied to both its rate of economic growth and the size of its energy-intensive manufacturing industries. Chinese policy goals call for a move away from heavy industry toward a less energy-intensive economy with a greater focus on service industries.
(Tue, 24 Jul 2018) China, India, and Africa are three of the most populated parts of the world. Their economies collectively consume about one-third of all global energy, and their energy consumption is projected to grow faster than the rest of the world through 2040. As a result, changes in these economies have significant implications for global energy markets.
