U.S ELECTRICITY USE DOWN 3.5% IN 2012

Short-Term Energy Outlook

November 6, 2012 (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

“Residential sales of electricity in the United States are projected to fall by 3.5 percent in 2012…[This] reflects the mild winter temperatures in the first quarter of this year, particularly in the south where many households heat using electricity. Residential electricity sales decline by 0.5 percent in 2013 as lower electricity demand for space cooling during the summer offsets the increase in first quarter consumption.

“…[A]t least 8.5 million customers were without power at some point as a result of Hurricane Sandy…EIA expects outages caused by Hurricane Sandy will reduce October and November total retail sales of electricity in the Mid-Atlantic region (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) by about 2 to 3 percent from their forecasted level absent disruptions caused by the storm…”

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“The shares of total U.S. electricity generation fueled by natural gas and coal during 2012 averaged 30.6 percent and 37.2 percent, respectively. EIA expects that prices for natural gas delivered to electric generators during 2013 will average 22 percent higher than during 2012, while the average cost of coal is just over 1 percent higher. The projected higher price of natural gas relative to coal contributes to a decline in the share of total generation fueled by natural gas 27.2 percent next year and an increase in the coal share to 40.1 percent…

“EIA expects the nominal U.S. residential electricity price will rise by just 0.1 percent during 2012, which would be the smallest year-over-year increase in ten years. Residential prices during 2013 are projected to rise by 1.5 percent to an average of 11.98 cents per kilowatt-hour.”

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