During the 2018 water year that ended September 30, 2018, The Dalles Dam in the Pacific Northwest experienced above-normal inflow—water volume flowing into the dam—but electricity generation from the dam remained relatively normal. The difference between the two is attributed…
Month: September 2018
Hydro and fossil fuels power electricity growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
According to EIA’s international electricity statistics, hydroelectric and fossil fuel-powered generation were the top sources of growth between 2005 and 2015 in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), defined as the 49 countries fully or partially south of the Sahara Desert. During that…
Like natural gas, coal in the Southwest Power Pool is cycled to accommodate wind power
Electricity generation in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a regional transmission organization (RTO) covering all or part of fourteen Midwestern states, is mostly provided by three fuels: coal, natural gas, and wind. Several states in SPP have the highest shares…
Crude oil was the largest U.S. petroleum export in the first half of 2018
Crude oil surpassed hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) to become the largest U.S. petroleum export, with 1.8 million barrels per day (b/d) of exports in the first half of 2018. U.S. crude oil exports increased by 787,000 b/d, or almost 80%,…
Seasonality in Brazilian petroleum liquids production is driven by biofuels
Brazil’s ethanol output is seasonal and typically peaks during the fourth quarter (October–December) of each year. The peak coincides with the harvest of sugarcane, the primary feedstock used in Brazil’s ethanol production. This seasonal fuel ethanol production can lead to…
East Coast refiners receiving more domestic crude oil from Gulf Coast by tanker and barge
Since mid-2017, the East Coast has been receiving as much crude oil by tanker and barge from the Gulf Coast as it has by rail from the Midwest. In April, the volume of crude oil transported by tanker and barge…
One in three U.S. households faces a challenge in meeting energy needs
Nearly one-third of U.S. households (31%) reported facing a challenge in paying energy bills or sustaining adequate heating and cooling in their homes in 2015. According to the most recent results from EIA’s Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), about one…
Summer average wholesale electricity prices in western U.S. were highest since 2008
As a result of record-high temperatures and fuel supply constraints this summer, wholesale electricity prices in the western United States reached their highest levels since 2008. In the area served by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), peak-period electricity prices…
OPEC net oil export revenues increased in 2017, will likely continue to increase in 2018
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) received about $567 billion in net oil export revenues in 2017, up 29% from revenues in 2016. Increases in both crude oil prices and in net OPEC oil exports drove…
EIA introduces interactive dashboard detailing natural gas storage activity
EIA has developed an interactive dashboard that provides daily and weekly contextual information to the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report (WNGSR). The new dashboard shows Lower 48 and regional storage activity and key market fundamentals that affect underground natural gas…
