Electricity sales in industry show recovery in the US
The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects growth in electricity sales and generation from renewables through 2022.
In this regard, the EIA forecasts that retail electricity sales in the United States will increase 2.8% in 2021, led by a 5.1% rise in sales to the industrial sector.
The EIA is the leading federal agency for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating data on energy supply and consumption for the United States and the world.
Since 1977 it was established by the Department of Energy Organization Act, although other federal agencies had regularly collected energy-related information since at least the early 20th century.
The EIA also forecasts that electricity sales will grow in the commercial sector in 2021, albeit at a slower pace of 2.1%, as many workers continue to work from home.
«The increase in electricity sales to the industrial sector is a strong sign of rising levels of economic production as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes in the United States,» said Acting EIA Administrator Steve Nalley.
Electricity sales
According to the EIA, renewable energy should contribute a larger share of US electricity generation through 2022, reaching a share of 23%, compared to 20% in 2020.
About 50 gigawatts of solar and wind capacity are scheduled to come online in the United States over the next 18 months with 2022 as the first year that growth in solar utility capacity will exceed growth in wind capacity.
At the same time, the EIA projects an 11% decrease in electricity generation from hydro in California and the Northwest in 2021 due to weather conditions and a 12% decrease nationwide.
«Extreme drought in the Northwest and California is depleting water supplies, which we expect will cause a significant decrease in electricity from hydropower this year,» said Nalley.
Gasoline and LNG
Another EIA forecast is that global oil and liquid fuel consumption will increase by approximately 9 million barrels per day (b/d) from 2020 to 2022, with consumption expected to exceed 2019 levels next year.
Likewise, the EIE estimates that regular grade gasoline prices will average $ 2.92/gal in dollars for the rest of this year and $ 2.74/gal for all of 2022.
To conclude, he estimates that liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports will increase while production will remain mostly level this year, leading to natural gas inventories of 3.6 trillion cubic feet in October, this is 3%. below the average of the last five years.
