Gas

Natural gas generation set new daily records in the U.S. this summer

The increase in natural gas generation was driven by low fuel costs and higher overall electricity demand, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.
Natural gas generation set new daily records in the U.S. this summer
(Credit: David J / Creative Commons)

U.S. natural gas-fired power plants generated more than 7 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity on August 2, 2024, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) 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.

Credit: EIA

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, EIA said.

Just weeks before August 2, U.S. power plant operators generated 6.9 million MWh of electricity from natural gas on a daily basis in the lower 48 states on July 9, 2024, the U.S. Energy Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, which was “probably” the most in history at the time, and definitely the most since at least January 1, 2019, when the EIA began to collect hourly data about natural gas generation.

The spike in natural gas-fired generation on July 9 was because of both high temperatures across most of the country and a steep drop in wind generation. According to the National Weather Service, most of the U.S. experienced temperatures well above average on July 9, 2024., with particularly high temperatures on the West Coast and East Coast.

Additionally, U.S. electricity generation is expected to increase by 3% – 121 billion kilowatthours (BkWh) – this year compared to 2023, largely driven by solar power and natural gas, according to Short-Term Energy Outlook analysis from EIA.

The increase in natural gas generation was driven by low fuel costs and higher overall electricity demand, EIA said. A few new combined-cycle plants have come online in the past year, but the new capacity has been offset by other plants’ retirements, EIA added. Forecast natural gas generation in 2024 is increasing the most in the Midwest (up 11 BkWh) and in the Mid-Atlantic (up 9 BkWh). EIA expects less natural gas generation in California this year (down 6 BkWh) and in the Southwest (down 2 BkWh), in response to large increases in solar generation.