On Tuesday on its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that this year, US power consumption would likely fall on the back of the coronavirus lockdown.
Electricity use is seen to go down by 3.6% to 3,813 billion kWh in 2020, compared to 3,957 billion kWh last year, but in 2021 it would likely jump to 3,849 billion kWh.
If the expectations are realized, this year would be the first two-consecutive declines in demand since 2012.
The US natural gas’ share of generation is likely to rise to 39% this year from 37% last year before next year dropped to 33% on the back of the increase in gas prices. Coal’s share is estimated to fall to 20% in 2020 from 24% in 2019 but will jump to 25% in the upcoming year.
The share of nuclear in US power generation will hit 21% this year, compared to 20% in the past year, and would slip back to 20% next year. Renewables’ share is forecast to climb to 20% from 2019’s 18% and to 22% in 2021.
Both power sales to commercial and industrial consumers are seen to edge down by 6.4% and 8.8%, respectively this year due to the reduced capacity in offices and factories. Electricity sales to residential houses are expected to jump by 2.5% to 1,476 billion kWh on account of the coronavirus-related movement restrictions.
