US power use to drop over 3.0pc in 2020 due to virus: EIA

CALIFORNIA, Nov 11 (Reuters): US electricity consumption will decline 3.6 per cent this year as coronavirus lockdowns cause businesses to close, the US Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday in its Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
The EIA projected power demand will drop to 3,813 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) in 2020 from 3,957 billion kWh in 2019 before rising to 3,849 billion kWh in 2021.
Those declines follow a 1.2 per cent drop in usage in 2019 due to mild weather from 2018's record 4,003 billion kWh, according to data going back to 1949.
If power consumption falls as expected, 2020 would be the first time demand declined for two consecutive years since 2012.
EIA said natural gas' share of generation will rise from 37 per cent in 2019 to 39 per cent in 2020 before dropping to 33 per cent in 2021 as gas prices increase, while coal's share will slide from 24 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent in 2020 before rising to 25 per cent in 2021.
Nuclear's share of generation will rise from 20 per cent in 2019 to 21 per cent in 2020 before sliding back to 20 per cent in 2021, while renewables will rise from 18 per cent in 2019 to 20 per cent in 2020 and 22 per cent in 2021.
The EIA projected power sales to commercial and industrial consumers will drop by 6.4 per cent and 8.8 per cent, respectively, in 2020 from 2019 as offices close and factories run at reduced capacity for coronavirus.