U.S. natural gas usage jumped 10% in 2018, to a record 82.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), the Energy Information Administration reported.
Domestic consumption of natural gas increased across all sectors in 2018, led by a 3.8 Bcf/d increase in the electric power sector, due to a combination of recent natural gas-fired electric capacity additions and weather-related factors.
The electric power sector consumed 29.1 Bcf/d in 2018, or 35% of total domestic U.S. natural gas consumption, Kallanish Energy finds. Natural gas continued to comprise the highest share of utility-scale electricity generation, two years after surpassing coal-fired generation on an annual basis.
New natural gas generation capacity continues to displace coal-fired power plants. In 2018, roughly 14,500 megawatts of net natural gas capacity were added, while almost 13,000 MW of coal-fired capacity were shuttered.
Annual fluctuations in natural gas consumption are largely driven by weather, according to EIA. As natural gas comprises a larger share of electricity generation, natural gas consumption increases both in the summer — when air conditioning demand is high — and in the winter, especially in places such as the South, where electric space heating is more common.
Last year, the U.S. experienced several periods of extremely warm and cold weather, contributing to record-high natural gas consumption. Many of the Lower 48 U.S. states experienced prolonged periods of colder-than-normal temperatures in January 2018, and record-high average monthly temperatures last summer increased natural gas use in the electric power sector.
Last July, natural gas consumption in the electric power sector set an all-time record of 39.9 Bcf/d, followed by the second-highest recorded level in August 2018 of 38.6 Bcf/d.
Natural gas consumption also grew in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in 2018, increasing 13%, 10%, and 4% compared with 2017 levels, respectively.
Both commercial sector (9.5 Bcf/d) and industrial sector natural gas use (22.7 Bcf/d) reached record highs in 2018, while residential natural gas use (13.6 Bcf/d) reached its highest level since 2014, according to EIA. Natural gas consumption in these sectors was driven by increased demand for space heating during the winter and by industries that require natural gas as feedstock or for process heat.
