Fortnightly Electricity Report, through April 28

I. Use of electricity was down five percent.

Use of electricity in the continental U.S. was down five percent in the month of April through the twenty-eighth (Tuesday of this week), compared to the same four week period last year.

Electricity use in the southeast, Carolinas, MISO, New York and the Tennessee Valley were all down by seven to ten percent. While use in Florida and Texas were actually slightly up.

II. Coal plant generation of electricity was down thirty-one percent.

Coal plant generation was down thirty-one percent in the month of April through the twenty-eighth, compared to last year.

Coal plants produced just fifteen percent of continental U.S. electric generation.

Indeed, in calendar year 2020 through April the twenty-eighth, the nation’s nuclear plants have out-produced its coal plants on all but eleven days. And for the very first time, the nation’s wind farms have actually out-produced its coal plants, thus far on three days in 2020.

Coal plants are now generally in third place in electric generation share, behind natural gas and nuclear plants.

Zero-emission plants — nuclear, wind, hydro and solar — produced forty-four percent of continental U.S. electric generation.

III. Carbon dioxide emissions were down sixteen percent.

Carbon dioxide emissions from electric generation were down sixteen percent in the month of April through the twenty-eighth, compared to last year.

The carbon intensity of the nation’s generation fleet fell to seven-tenths of a pound of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour. This was down ten percent compared to the same period last year.
 

Hear a discussion about this report in the sixth episode of Podcast Utilities Fortnightly.
 

These data — more exact and broken down by the thirteen regions of the continental U.S. — are available upon request by PUF member organizations. Contact Alexandra Revel, arevel@fortnightly.com.