Electric Power Sector Coal Stocks: February 2012

 

The unseasonably warm temperatures that the continental United States experienced throughout the winter, coupled with low natural gas prices, caused coal stocks at power plants to increase throughout the winter of 2011 - 2012. During this period, coal stocks usually see a seasonal decline due to the added need for electricity generation from coal plants for spacing heating load. However, it was the sixth straight month that coal stocks increased from the previous month, with this trend likely to continue as the country enters into spring.

Days of Burn

The average number of days of burn held at electric power plants is a forward looking estimate of coal supply given a power plant's current stockpile and past consumption patterns. In February 2012, total bituminous supply reached 95 days of burn, while total subbituminous supply reached 83 days of burn. These were the highest levels observed since this metric was calculated. Bituminous coal in the Western region was the only coal supply that actually had a slight decrease in days of burn when compared to the previous month.

Coal Stocks and Average Number of Days of Burn for Non-Lignite Coal by Region (Electric Power Sector)

		Feb 2012			Feb 2011			Jan 2012
Zone	Coal	Stocks (1000 tons)	Days of Burn		Stocks (1000 tons)	Days of Burn	% Change of Stocks	Stocks (1000 tons)	Days of Burn	% Change of Stocks
Northeast	Bituminous	9,253	86		6,076	48	52.3%	8,292	68	11.6%
	Subbituminous	661	76		385	23	71.5%	604	40	9.5%
South	Bituminous	50,428	99		42,735	79	18.0%	48,112	94	4.8%
	Subbituminous	7,917	81		4,677	48	69.2%	7,421	77	6.7%
Midwest	Bituminous	17,092	79		16,143	69	5.9%	16,390	69	4.3%
	Subbituminous	47,508	80		40,949	67	16.0%	46,827	75	1.5%
West	Bituminous	6,888	126		6,742	116	2.2%	6,973	128	-1.2%
	Subbituminous	31,385	88		27,927	78	12.4%	29,400	78	6.8%
U.S. Total	Bituminous	83,661	95		71,696	76	16.7%	79,766	87	4.9%
	Subbituminous	87,470	83		73,939	68	18.3%	84,251	76	3.8%

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration

NOTE: Stockpile levels shown above reflect a sample of electric power sector plants, which were used to create the days of burn statistics. These levels will not equal total electric power sector stockpile levels