US Electricity Consumption Set to Rise in 2021 as Governments Ease Lockdown Measures – EIA

June 8 (Reuters) – Electricity consumption in the US will rise 2.0% this year as state and local governments ease lockdowns, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its Short Term Energy on Tuesday Outlook (STEO).

EIA forecast electricity demand will rise to 3,879 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2021 and 3,935 billion kWh in 2022, from an 11-year low of 3,802 billion kWh in 2020 caused by the coronavirus All-time high of 4,003 billion kWh compared to 2018.

The EIA forecast that residential electricity sales would rise to 1,503 billion kWh in 2021, which would be a record as ongoing lockdowns mean more people are working from home, 1,294 billion kWh for commercial customers and 945 billion kWh for industrial customers .

This compares to record values ​​of 1,469 billion kWh in 2018 for residential customers, 1,382 billion kWh in 2018 for commercial customers and 1,064 billion kWh in 2000 for industrial customers.

According to the EIA, natural gas’s share of electricity generation will fall from 39% in 2020 to 36% in 2021 and 35% in 2022 as gas prices rise, while coal’s share will fall from 20% in 2020 to 23% in 2021 2021 before slipping to 22% in 2022.

The share of nuclear energy will decrease from 21% in 2020 to 20% in 2021 and 19% in 2022, while the share of renewable energy will increase from 20% in 2020 to 21% in 2021 and 23% in 2022 .

The EIA forecast natural gas sales for 2021 to increase to 13.29 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) for residential customers, 9.25 bcfd for commercial customers and 23.25 bcfd for industrial customers, but for power generation to fall to 29.39 bcfd.

For comparison, all-time highs of 14.36 bcfd in 1996 for residential customers, 9.63 bcfd in 2018 for commercial customers, 23.80 bcfd in 1973 for industrial customers, and 31.74 billion cubic feet per day in 2020 for power generation.

Reporting by Scott DiSavino

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