Mexico conducts its first natural gas pipeline capacity open season

As part of a series of ongoing energy reforms, Mexico's National Center for Natural Gas Control (CENAGAS) recently conducted the first open season to auction capacity rights on the country's natural gas pipeline grid. More »

One in eight U.S. homes uses a programmed thermostat with a central air conditioning unit

Programmable thermostats are designed to help manage energy use, but most of the U.S. households with these controls do not choose to program their thermostats. Based on information collected through EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) for 2015, only 12% of the nation’s 118 million households had a central air-conditioning unit that is actually controlled using the programmed thermostat. More »

U.S. coal exports have increased over the past six months

Coal exports for the first quarter of 2017 were 58% higher than in the same quarter last year, with steam coal exports increasing by 6 million short tons (MMst) and metallurgical coal exports increasing by 2 MMst. Most of these exports were shipped from Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports. More »

Retail price of regular gasoline forecast to average $2.38 per gallon this summer

In the latest "Short-Term Energy Outlook" (STEO), EIA forecasts that the U.S. retail price for regular gasoline will average $2.38 per gallon (gal) this summer (April through September). If realized, it would be the second-lowest summer average gasoline price since 2005. More »

The western U.S. sub-hourly wholesale electricity market is expanding

Seven electricity providers in the western portion of the United States and Canada have plans to join the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) western energy imbalance market (EIM) over the next several years. The EIM allows for more frequent dispatch of electricity-generating resources in the region. More »

Brent and WTI crude oil prices expected to average about $50 per barrel through 2018

EIA now forecasts Brent crude oil spot prices to average $51 per barrel (b) in 2017 and $52/b in 2018. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are expected to be $2/b lower than Brent prices in 2017 and 2018. Daily and monthly prices could vary significantly from this forecast because global economic developments and geopolitical events in the coming months have the potential to push oil prices higher or lower than the current forecast. More »