Propane prices during the first month of the current winter heating season (October–March) are essentially unchanged compared with prices at the same time last winter. The U.S. residential price of propane averaged $2.66 per gallon (gal) in October 2022, the same as the average price in October 2021, according to our Heating Oil and Propane […]
Category: Today in Energy
U.S. natural gas disposition increased in 2021, driven by exports
Our most recent annual data for 2021 show that the net disposition of natural gas in the United States increased by 3.6% in 2021 compared with 2020 as a result of growth in liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. We define net disposition as consumption, net exports, and net storage. In 2021, however, consumption in all […]
U.S. electricity customers averaged seven hours of power interruptions in 2021
On average, U.S. electricity customers experienced just over seven hours of electric power interruptions in 2021, almost an hour less than in 2020. When major events—including snowstorms, hurricanes, and wildfires—are excluded, the average duration of interruptions annually remained consistently at around two hours per year from 2013 to 2021. […]
Strong demand for diesel leads to high prices and tight inventories going into winter
Strong demand for ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) in October, combined with reduced global production, has resulted in lower ULSD inventories in the United States. ULSD is the most widely consumed form of distillate fuel oil. […]
EIA now expects U.S. natural gas prices to average above $6.00/MMBtu this winter
In our November Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), we forecast that natural gas spot prices at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub will average $6.09 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) this winter (November 2022–March 2023), the highest real price since winter 2009–10. Our forecast reflects natural gas storage levels that are 4% below average heading into […]
Most U.S. coal is mined in the West, but most coal mining jobs are in the East
In 2021, 60% of the country’s coal was produced in the western United States, but only 28% of workers in the coal mining industry worked there, based on data from our Annual Coal Report. This difference is related to the technologies used in the East and West; surface mines in the West can use massive […]
Nearly a quarter of the operating U.S. coal-fired fleet scheduled to retire by 2029
Due to continued competition from natural gas and renewable resources, 23% of the 200,568 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired capacity currently operating in the United States has reported plans to retire by the end of 2029, according to our Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. […]
U.S. electric-generating capacity for combined-cycle natural gas turbines is growing
Eight new natural gas-fired combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants have come online or will come online in the United States this year. These new plants will add 7,775 megawatts (MW) of electric-generating capacity to the U.S. electric grid, based on our estimates and data from our latest Monthly Electric Generator Inventory. These eight projects […]
Average U.S. construction costs drop for solar, rise for wind and natural gas generators
Construction costs for solar photovoltaic systems continued to decrease in the United States in 2020; the capacity-weighted average fell 8% compared with 2019, according to the latest data in our Annual Electric Generator Report on newly constructed utility-scale electric generators. By contrast, average construction costs for both wind turbines and natural gas-fired generators increased compared […]
High natural gas production and storage injections in September drove U.S. prices down
Injections into U.S. working natural gas storage in the Lower 48 states during the 2022 injection season (April through October) have brought storage levels back near historical averages. The overall increase in natural gas storage was driven primarily by five consecutive triple-digit increases in September and early October. U.S. natural gas injections totaled 427 billion […]