COVID sparks a wider shift in energy
While much of the focus during the pandemic has been on the devastating effect the coronavirus outbreak has had on oil demand, the economic fallout has sparked growing changes in the consumption of other energy sources.
U.S. residential electricity use has increased with so many people working from home, running computers, running the air conditioner and keeping lights on all day, when they used to be at the office.
Residential energy consumption jumped by 9 percent in June, to 1.6 quadrillion British thermal units, compared with June 2019, according to the Department of Energy.
Increased consumption translates into bigger bills. Statista, a global consumer data firm, recently found that U.S. consumers are spending 17 percent more on energy, including electricity, as well as housing and maintenance during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, natural gas consumption by U.S. factories fell by more than 20 percent during the first six months of the year as the
pandemic slowed the nation’s manufacturing sector U.S. factories used 20.1 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in June 2020, down from 25.4 billion cubic feet per day in January, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration.
Natural gas consumption in the industrial sector hit bottom in May, falling 8 percent compared with the same period a year earlier. May marked the largest year- over-year decline since July 2009, during the middle of the Great Recession.
The demand drop over the first half of 2020 reflects the effects of the pandemic, which forced factories to close temporarily. The U.S. gross domestic product, which measures the value of goods and services produced. nationally, fell by 9.1 percent during the second quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Demand for natural gas is recovering as more states have reopened their economies and as cooler temperatures approach. U.S. consumption of natural gas by homes and offices rose by 2.3 billion cubic feet per day, or 27.9 percent, over the past week as temperatures fell along the East Coast. Power plant use fell by 6.7 percent as air conditioning demand dropped.