Virus took big toll on energy use in ’20

Energy consumption in the U.S. plunged last year by the largest amount on record as the global pandemic slashed demand for crude and petroleum products such as gasoline and jet fuel.

Americans consumed 93 quadrillion British thermal units of energy in 2020, 7 percent less than a year earlier, and the lowest total since the mid-1990s, the Energy Department said. It was the largest annual decrease since the U.S. began keeping such data in 1949.

Before 2020, the largest annual decrease in energy consumption on record occurred during the Great Recession that began in 2008, when consumption fell by 5 percent.

“Much of the 2020 decrease in energy use is attributable to economic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic that began in the United States during the spring of 2020,” the Energy Department said.

The transportation sector suffered most, with economic lockdowns and travel restrictions reducing demand for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel consumption by 15 percent in 2020. U.S. jet fuel use during Thanksgiving, for example, was about half of what was used during the holiday in 2019. Overall, jet fuel consumption fell by 38 percent, gasoline by 13 percent and diesel by 7 percent in 2020.

Energy use by the commercial sector fell by 7 percent in 2020 as offices and businesses temporarily closed or shifted to remote work. Commercial natural gas consumption dropped by 11 percent and retail electricity sales to offices and businesses fell by 6 percent.

Energy use by the industrial sector decreased by 5 percent in 2020 as factories temporarily closed during the pandemic.

Use of coal fell by 16 percent, petroleum by 4 percent and natural gas by 2 percent. Retail sales to industrial users fell by 8 percent.

The only sector that didn’t see a large effect from the pandemic was residential. Energy use in U.S. homes fell by 1 percent as Americans spent more time working and studying from home because of various stay-at-home orders during 2020. Sales of electricity to U.S. homes jumped by 2 percent. A relatively warm winter across most of the U.S., however, cut home heating energy use, including natural gas by 7 percent, heating oil by 11 percent and firewood by 16 percent.

Among fuel sources, consumption of renewable energy was the only type to increase year over year, by 2 percent to 11.59 quadrilion BTUS in 2020 compared with 11.35 quadrillion in 2019. Nuclear power consumption decreased by 2.4 percent to 8.25 quadrillion BTUS. Fossil fuel consumption plunged by 9 percent to 72.97 quadrillion BTUS.

The fossil fuel decline, and especially that of gasoline, could be short-lived as drivers in the U.S. return to the roads. Gasoline demand has risen for six-straight weeks, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for fuel-price tracking website Gasbuddy.

The growing consumption threatens to push the national average price of a gallon of gasoline to near $3 in the coming months, he said.

“We may see a second attempt at a run at a national average of $3 per gallon in the months ahead,” De Haan said.

Gasoline prices in Houston, which typically are lower than the national average, dipped last week by 3 cents a gallon to $2.56 — about 14 cents more than a month ago and 88 cents more than in April 2019.

Nationally, the average prices was essentially unchanged at $2.86 a gallon, up 10 cents a gallon from a month ago and 95 cents from a year ago.

“While the last few weeks have seen gas prices hold mostly steady, it’s not likely to last forever,” De Haan said, “especially as Americans increasingly get outside as warmer temperatures return.”