U.S. residential electricity bills increased 5% in 2022, after adjusting for inflation

In nominal terms, the average monthly electricity bill for residential customers in the United States increased 13% from 2021 to 2022, rising from $121 a month to $137 a month. After adjusting for inflation–which reached 8% in 2022, a 40-year high–electricity bills increased 5%. Last year had the largest annual increase in average residential electricity spending since we began calculating it in 1984. The increase was driven by a combination of more extreme temperatures, which increased U.S. consumption of electricity for both heating and cooling, and higher fuel costs for power plants, which drove up retail electricity prices. More »

U.S. energy insecure households were billed more for energy than other households

On average, households in the United States were billed $1.04 per square foot for energy usage across all energy sources in 2020. Those households identifying as energy insecure were billed $0.20 more per square foot than the national average and $0.26 more on average than households that did not experience energy insecurity. Household energy insecurity is the inability to adequately meet basic household energy needs and describes households who face challenges in purchasing the energy they need because of cost. For our Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), energy insecurity is a measure we use to count households that have received a disconnection notice, have reduced or forgone basic necessities to pay energy bills, kept their houses at unsafe temperatures because of energy cost concerns, or been unable to repair heating or cooling equipment because of cost. More »

U.S. gasoline prices are down from 2022 heading into Memorial Day weekend

The retail price for regular-grade gasoline in the United States on May 22, the Monday before Memorial Day weekend, averaged $3.53 per gallon (gal), 26% (or $1.24/gal) lower than the inflation-adjusted price a year ago. Memorial Day gasoline prices last year were the highest since 2012. The American Automobile Association (AAA) expects 6% more miles traveled this Memorial Day weekend compared with last year because of lower gasoline prices. Although retail gasoline prices have come down from a year ago, they remain higher than during the period from 2019 through 2021. More »

EIA explores effects of liquefied natural gas exports on the U.S. natural gas market

In our Issues in Focus: Effects of Liquefied Natural Gas Exports on the U.S. Natural Gas Market supplement to our Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023), we find that the volumes of liquefied natural gas exports (LNG) do affect average U.S. natural gas prices. However, the resulting range in natural gas prices in our new cases was narrower than the price range in recent history and the AEO2023 side cases despite a wide variety of U.S. LNG export volumes. More »

In 2021, Algeria produced record amounts of natural gas

In 2021, more natural gas was produced in Algeria than in any year since record-keeping began in 1980, according to the data in our recently updated Country Analysis Brief: Algeria. Algeria produced 9.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of dry natural gas in 2021, a 23.4% increase from the 8.0 Bcf/d the country produced in 2011. Of the natural gas produced in 2021, 53% was exported. Although the overall volume of exports was greater in 2021 compared with 2011, the percentage exported in 2021 was smaller than in 2011, when 60% of Algeria’s natural gas was exported. Domestic consumption has increased over the last decade, but recent upgrades to export infrastructure capacity give Algeria the option to export more of its natural gas. More »

EIA expects lower crude oil prices for the second half of 2023 and for 2024

We lowered our crude oil price forecast for the rest of 2023 and for 2024 in our May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) because of relatively rapid declines in the crude oil price since April. Between April 12, 2023, and May 4, 2023, the Brent crude oil price fell $16 per barrel (b) to $73/b; the West Texas Intermediate crude oil price fell $15/b to $69/b. We expect that a drop in OPEC production and increases in demand will lead to relatively moderate price increases over the next few months. More »

Texas and New Mexico led U.S. crude oil production in 2022

U.S. crude oil production grew 5.6%, or 0.6 million barrels per day (b/d), in 2022 compared with 2021, averaging 11.9 million b/d according to our Monthly Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production report. The two states the Permian Basin spans—Texas and New Mexico—contributed the most growth to U.S. crude oil production in 2022. More »

U.S. propane consumption last winter was the lowest on record

We estimate that U.S. propane consumption averaged 0.986 million barrels per day (b/d) during the 2022—23 winter heating season (October through March), the least for a winter heating season on record, starting in 2010. Reduced average winter U.S. propane consumption was influenced by less consumption during the coldest winter months of December, January, and February. Based on our recently released Petroleum Supply Monthly, U.S. propane consumption during those three months averaged 1.07 million b/d, also the least since 2010. The lower consumption is primarily the result of warmer-than-normal temperatures during the winter. The consumption of propane is closely correlated with temperature in the United States during the winter and the resulting demand for heating. More »

U.S. Henry Hub natural gas price expected to increase from recent lows

In our May Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we expect the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub natural gas spot price to increase throughout 2023 from its recent lows. In April, the Henry Hub price averaged $2.16 per million British thermal units (MMBtu). We expect the monthly average Henry Hub price to reach $3.71/MMBtu in December. Forecast prices throughout the rest of the year remain much lower compared with last year, averaging $2.91/MMBtu for the year, a more than 50% decline from the 2022 average price of $6.42/MMBtu, according to our May STEO. More »

Incentives and lower costs drive electric vehicle adoption in our Annual Energy Outlook

According to our Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023), we project that electric vehicles (EVs), including both battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), will account for between 13% and 29% of new light-duty vehicle sales in the United States in 2050 and between 11% and 26% of on-road light-duty vehicle stocks. Declines in EV component costs, along with federal and state policies that provide incentives for EV purchases or require minimum sales, drive EV sales growth in our model projection. More »

EIA projects coal capacity will decrease in our Annual Energy Outlook 2023

Our Annual Energy Outlook 2023 (AEO2023) projects that U.S. coal-fired generating capacity will drop below half of 2022 levels by 2050. More »

Mixed water supply condition across western states affects 2023 hydropower outlook

Record-breaking rain and snow in parts of the western United States contribute to our forecast 72% rise in hydropower generation in California this year compared with last year, according to our latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO). However, below-normal precipitation and a mixed water supply outlook in the Pacific Northwest, which generates a significant portion of the country's hydropower, offset the forecast increase in hydropower generation in California. More »

What is OPEC+ and how is it different from OPEC?

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, also known as OPEC, was formed in 1960 by Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. The organization has since expanded to 13 members. OPEC regularly meets to set oil production targets and coordinate output to help manage global oil prices for the entire group. More »

Europe ended winter 2022–23 with the most natural gas in storage on record

As of April 1, natural gas storage inventories were 56% full—the highest percentage on record for the end of a heating season (November 1 through March 31)—according to data from Gas Infrastructure Europe’s Aggregated Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI+). On April 1, natural gas storage in Europe totaled 2.02 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), exceeding the previous record of 1.98 Tcf at the end of winter 2019–20, and the five-year (2018–22) average of 1.21 Tcf. The winter of 2022–23 was Europe’s second-warmest winter on record and the warmest January, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). More »

U.S. households in warmer states consume less site energy than households in colder states

U.S. households consumed an average of 76.7 million British thermal units (MMBtu) of site energy in 2020, according to our 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) data. The average site energy a household uses is largely correlated with the average outdoor temperature; households in colder climates, where space heating equipment is used more intensely, tend to consume more site energy than households in warmer parts of the county. Of the 15 states with average annual temperatures above the national average (59.4°F), the average households in every state except Oklahoma used less energy than the national average. More »

Beaumont refinery expansion boosts Gulf Coast petroleum refining capacity

On March 16, ExxonMobil announced the beginning of operations at the expansion of its Beaumont refinery, adding 250,000 barrels per day (b/d) of capacity, according to the company’s announcement. The expansion makes the oil refinery one of the largest in the United States as measured by crude oil distillation capacity. According to ExxonMobil, the total capacity of the Beaumont facility is now 630,000 b/d. More »

A mild winter reduced withdrawals from natural gas storage in the U.S. South Central

During this past winter heating season (Nov 1–Mar 31), the amount of natural gas withdrawn from underground storage in the U.S. South Central storage region was among the least on record, at 239 billion cubic feet (Bcf), according to our Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report. Winter heating degree days in the region were 10% below the 10-year (2013–22) average, reducing the need to use natural gas inventories to meet heating demand. Regional natural gas consumption in the residential and commercial sectors was 12% below the five-winter average (from 2017–18 to 2021–22) this winter, according to data from S&P Global Commodity Insights. More »