New England’s competitive electricity markets lead to less price volatility

Of the six states that comprise New England, all but Vermont have deregulated electricity markets that allow customers to choose among competitive suppliers to provide their electricity. Retail electricity prices paid by customers in New England who choose a competitive supplier are much less volatile than wholesale electricity prices, but temporary increases in competitive retail electricity prices occur at about the same time as the largest increases in wholesale electricity prices. More »

Low Rhine River water levels disrupt petroleum product shipments to parts of Europe

Historically low water levels on the Rhine River in Europe have resulted in transportation disruptions for shipments of petroleum products by barge, which in turn have resulted in higher freight costs and higher prices in markets upriver, such as in southern Germany. These disruptions are occurring at a time when markets along the Rhine River typically build inventories of distillate fuel for space heating ahead of the winter. More »

Carbon dioxide emissions from the U.S. power sector have declined 28% since 2005

U.S. electric power sector carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) have declined 28% since 2005 because of slower electricity demand growth and changes in the mix of fuels used to generate electricity. EIA has calculated that CO2 emissions from the electric power sector totaled 1,744 million metric tons (MMmt) in 2017, the lowest level since 1987. More »

Most utility-scale fixed-tilt solar photovoltaic systems are tilted 20 degrees-30 degrees

Nearly 40%, or 10.4 gigawatts (GW), of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) systems operating in the United States at the end of 2017 were fixed-tilt PV systems rather than tracking systems. Of the utility-scale fixed-tilt solar PV systems, 76% of the capacity was installed at a fixed angle between 20 degrees and 30 degrees from the horizon. More »

Europe’s liquefied natural gas imports have increased lately, but remain below 2011 peak

Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the 28 countries that make up the European Union (EU-28) averaged 5.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2017, increasing for the third consecutive year but remaining below their 2011 peak. In 2017, imports of LNG into EU-28 accounted for 13% of the global total. LNG import capacity in EU-28 currently stands at 20 Bcf/d, or almost one-fifth of the global total, but utilization of EU-28 LNG import facilities has declined from about 50% in 2010 to between 20% and 25% in recent years as expansions in regasification capacity far exceeded demand for LNG imports. More »

Resumption of Iran sanctions adds uncertainty to crude oil and gasoline price forecasts

EIA’s October 2018 Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts Brent crude oil spot prices, which averaged $79 per barrel (b) in September, to average $81/b in the fourth quarter of 2018, before falling to an average of $75/b in 2019. However, the effects of the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran, and the potential response from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other countries pose significant uncertainty to the forecast. More »

Iran has produced and exported less crude oil since sanctions announcement

Iran's crude oil exports and production have declined since the May 2018 announcement by the United States that it would withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and reinstate sanctions against Iran. More »

Hurricane Michael caused 1.7 million electricity outages in the Southeast United States

Hurricane Michael resulted in outages for up to 1.7 million electricity customers across six states, according to situation reports from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response. On Wednesday, October 10, 2018, the storm made landfall as a Category 4 storm near Mexico Beach in the Florida panhandle. During the following two days, Hurricane Michael traveled through Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia with heavy rainfall and up to 65 mile-per-hour winds. More »

U.S. manufacturers’ short-term capability to switch fuels continues to decline

Some manufacturing plants can take advantage of relative price differences and cope with supply shortages by switching the fuels used in their furnaces, boilers, ovens, and other combustors. In the United States, the capability of the manufacturing sector to switch the fuels it uses has declined in recent decades, as described in a new report from EIA’s 2014 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS). More »

Natural gas pipeline rupture in Canada affects U.S. energy markets

The October 9, 2018 rupture of Enbridge’s BC natural gas pipeline near Prince George, British Columbia, continues to affect natural gas supply, electricity generation, and petroleum refining in the U.S. Pacific Northwest. The BC Pipeline links natural gas production in northeastern British Columbia with distribution markets in Canada as well as Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Imports of natural gas through the pipeline, which in the first half of the year averaged 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) at the Sumas hub import point, fell to zero for a day after the rupture. More »

Natural gas-fired power plants are being added and used more in PJM Interconnection

The average annual capacity factors for natural gas-fired generators in the PJM Interconnection—the largest competitive wholesale electricity market in the United States—have increased in recent years, reflecting greater use of natural gas-fired generators in the region. More »

The changing U.S. energy trade balance is still dominated by crude oil imports

During the past decade, the U.S. trade gap for energy products has narrowed. From 2003 to 2007, the value of energy imports was about 10 times greater than the value of exports. By 2017, imports were only about 1.5 times greater than exports according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. More »

U.S. nuclear plant outages increased in September after remaining low during summer

Electric generation capacity losses as a result of U.S. nuclear plant outages were relatively low during much of the 2018 summer, averaging 2.8 gigawatts (GW) from June through August. This year’s seasonal maintenance and refueling cycle began earlier than in recent years, and total nuclear outages averaged 14.5 GW in the last week of September. The earlier-than-expected retirement of the Oyster Creek Generating Station and a temporary plant shutdown related to Hurricane Florence also increased outages in September. More »

Natural gas storage likely to enter winter at lowest levels since 2005

EIA forecasts that natural gas inventories will reach 3,263 billion cubic feet (Bcf) at the end of October in its recently released October Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the lowest end-of-October level for U.S. natural gas inventories since 2005. Lingering cold temperatures in April 2018, the coldest April in the past 21 years, delayed the start of the natural gas storage refill season by about four weeks. Coupled with heavy natural gas withdrawals in January 2018, the delayed start to the refill season led to storage levels that have remained lower than the previous five-year minimum. However, late season injections during the last four weeks have been close to their five-year averages, with injections averaging 81 Bcf compared with the five-year average of 82 Bcf. More »

Combined wind and solar made up at least 20% of electric generation in 10 states in 2017

Wind and solar electric generation, including small-scale solar photovoltaics, reached or exceeded 20% of total generation in 10 states in 2017. During some months in 2017, wind accounted for more than 50% of in-state electricity generation in Iowa and Kansas, and solar accounted for more than 20% of in-state electricity generation in California. Total annual generation from wind and solar in the United States in 2017 reached 8% for the year and peaked at 11% in April of that year. More »

U.S. home heating bills likely to be slightly higher this winter

Most U.S. households can expect higher heating expenditures this winter (October through March) compared with last winter according to EIA's Winter Fuels Outlook. Higher expected winter heating expenditures are mainly the result of higher prices for heating fuels, as temperatures are expected to be similar to last winter in much of the country. More information about EIA’s expectations for winter fuels prices and expenditures is available in the Short-Term Energy Outlook supplement on winter fuels, released at noon today. More »

The United States continues to increase production of lighter crude oil

As domestic production continues to increase, the average density of crude oil produced in the United States continues to become lighter. The average API gravity—a measure of a crude oil’s density where higher numbers mean lower density—of U.S. crude oil increased in 2017 and through the first six months of 2018. Crude oil production with an API gravity greater than 40 degrees grew by 310,000 barrels per day (b/d) to more than 4.6 million b/d in 2017. This increase represents 53% of total Lower 48 production in 2017, an increase from 50% in 2015, the earliest year for which EIA has oil production data by API gravity. More »

Hurricane path, not just size, can have a large effect on oil and gas production

The 2018 Atlantic hurricane season produced 13 named storms as of October 5, including 6 hurricanes. The most recent of these storms that made landfall in the United States were Tropical Storm Gordon and Hurricane Florence. Gordon entered the Gulf of Mexico on September 3, triggering the first shut-in oil and natural gas production of the 2018 season. Hurricane Florence struck the East Coast on September 14 and had no impact on Gulf of Mexico production. More »

Both natural gas supply and demand have increased from year-ago levels

In the first half of 2018, U.S. natural gas supply and demand grew significantly compared to the first half of 2017. According to EIA’s Natural Gas Monthly, natural gas consumption and exports averaged 93.2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) during the first half of 2018, or 12% greater than during the first half of 2017. Total supply of U.S. natural gas, including domestic production, imports, and storage withdrawals, averaged 92.6 Bcf/d during the first half of 2018, a 12% increase from the first half of 2017. More »

U.S. uranium imports continue as domestic production remains at historical lows

During 2017, owners and operators of U.S. nuclear power plants purchased 40 million pounds of uranium from foreign suppliers. Canada, Australia, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan represented the top five countries of origin and together accounted for 84% of total U.S. uranium purchases in 2017. A little more than half of these purchases originated from Canada and Australia, which provided 14 million pounds and 8 million pounds of uranium, respectively. The United States supplied 3 million pounds, or 7% of total uranium purchased by U.S. power plants. More »

Crude oil entering Gulf Coast refineries has become lighter as imports have declined

The density of crude oil processed by U.S. Gulf Coast refineries has become lighter since 2008 as refineries moved away from heavier imported crude oil to lighter crude oil produced in Texas. The Gulf Coast is home to most of the nation’s petroleum refineries, and these refineries tend to run a diverse mix of crude oils that, similar to the national average, has become lighter since 2008. More »