U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation set new daily records in summer 2024

U.S. natural gas-fired power plants generated more than 7 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity on August 2, 2024, according to our Hourly Electric Grid Monitor, making up almost half of all electricity generated in the contiguous United States that day.

On August 2, 2024, 7.1 million MWh of natural gas-fired electricity was generated in the United States, 6.8% more than the previous summer’s record set on July 28, 2023. Nine out of the ten days with the most U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation on record occurred in the summer of 2024; of those, six occurred in August 2024. Overall electricity generation for the summer (June–August) of 2024 was up by 3% from summer 2023. The daily average for natural gas-fired electricity generation for the summer also increased 3% to 5.9 million MWh.

Reasons for increased U.S. natural gas-fired electricity generation included hotter weather, low natural gas prices, the addition of new combined-cycle generating capacity, and increased generator capacity factors.

Over the past few years, the balance of sources of electricity generation in the United States—especially in the summer—has shifted to more renewables and natural gas and less coal. As electric generation capacity from renewable sources grows, natural gas is used increasingly to balance the intermittent nature of electricity produced from wind and solar. Since 2014, the share of U.S. electricity generation from natural gas in the summer has increased every year except 2021, increasing from 29% in 2014 to 45% in 2024.

Principal contributors: Grace Wheaton, Corrina Ricker