U.S. gasoline prices this Memorial Day weekend are nearly the same as last year’s
Heading into the 2019 Memorial Day weekend, regular gasoline prices averaged $2.85 per gallon (gal) nationally on May 20, slightly lower than last year’s price of $2.92/gal before the holiday weekend.
Tags: gasoline, liquid fuels, prices
California gasoline prices increase following refinery outages and declining inventories
In early May, the California retail gasoline price averaged $4.01 per gallon (gal), surpassing the $4/gal mark for the first time since 2014. By comparison, the U.S. retail gasoline price averaged $2.90/gal. Much of the recent increase in California’s gasoline prices is attributable to refinery outages—both planned and unplanned—and falling gasoline inventories in the region.
Tags: prices, gasoline, Brent, liquid fuels, crude oil, California, inventories/stocks, West Coast, refineries, PADD 5
Con Edison limits natural gas service due to pipeline constraints into New York City area
In January 2019, Consolidated Edison, Inc., (Con Edison)—the largest utility provider in the New York City area, serving 10 million customers—announced a moratorium on new natural gas connections in most of Westchester County, effective March 16. Demand for natural gas in the New York City area has increased in recent years, leading to concerns about reliability of service. Con Edison claimed it cannot guarantee uninterrupted service to new natural gas connections. Between the announcement of the moratorium and its start on March 16, Con Edison received 1,600 applications for firm natural gas service in the moratorium area. Customers on firm natural gas service contracts have delivery priority above those on interruptible contracts.
Tags: natural gas, pipelines, New York
Nonpowered dams can be converted to hydroelectric dams for electricity generation
According to EIA’s most recent electric generator inventory, 32 dams that currently do not generate electricity are planned to be converted to hydroelectric dams, which will add more than 330 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity to the grid over the next several years.
Tags: generation, electricity, hydroelectric
Venezuelan crude oil production falls to lowest level since January 2003
In April 2019, Venezuela's crude oil production averaged 830,000 barrels per day (b/d), down from 1.2 million b/d at the beginning of the year, according to EIA’s May 2019 Short-Term Energy Outlook. This average is the lowest level since January 2003, when a nationwide strike and civil unrest largely brought the operations of Venezuela's state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PdVSA), to a halt. Widespread power outages, mismanagement of the country's oil industry, and U.S. sanctions directed at Venezuela's energy sector and PdVSA have all contributed to the recent declines.
Tags: Venezuela, liquid fuels, crude oil, oil/petroleum
Coal stockpiles at U.S. coal power plants were at their lowest point in over a decade
U.S. coal stockpiles decreased to 98.7 million tons in February 2019, their lowest value in more than a decade. Total U.S. coal stockpiles have fallen as more coal plants have retired.
Tags: generation, coal, electricity, power plants, inventories/stocks
New EIA product expands access to state and regional energy information
EIA’s new State Energy Portal provides greater access to more state-level U.S. energy data with interactive, customizable views of more than 150 charts, tables, and maps. Infographics show the overall energy context for the states; state rankings provide a way to compare states. Users can download charts and embed them in their websites. EIA developed this tool in response to feedback from a wide variety of customers who use its state-level data. EIA released the new portal as a Beta product on May 15, 2019.
Tags: states
Tax credit phaseout encourages more wind power plants to be added by end of year
Republished May 15, 2019 to clarify the timing of the production tax credit phaseout.
EIA expects that U.S. wind capacity additions in 2019 will total 12.7 gigawatts (GW), exceeding annual capacity additions for the previous six years but falling short of the record 13.3 GW of wind capacity added in 2012. Expected capacity additions discussed in this article are based on projects reported to EIA through surveys and reported in EIA’s Preliminary Monthly Electric Generator Inventory.
Tags: generation, electricity, wind, power plants
EIA revises its crude oil price forecast upward as supply expectations change
In its May 2019 edition of the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), EIA revised its price forecast for Brent crude oil upward, reflecting price increases in recent months, more recent data, and changing expectations of global oil markets. Several supply constraints have caused oil markets to be generally tighter and oil prices to be higher so far in 2019 than previous STEOs expected.
Liquefied natural gas imports limited price spikes in New England this winter
Note: Includes daily natural gas sendout from Everett LNG, TGP Distrigas receipt, Northeast Gateway, and Canaport.
During winter 2018–2019, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at terminals serving New England played an important role in moderating natural gas prices in the region. LNG imports are regasified at these terminals and then sent to natural gas distribution networks. These sendout volumes increased during times of high spot natural gas prices at the Algonquin Citygate, a widely referenced trading hub and benchmark for natural gas prices in New England, effectively limiting further increases in spot prices.