Note: Please be advised that revisions have been made to data for January 2008 and February 2008 regarding the renewable and nuclear categories. Also, all January 2008 through December 2008 retail sales, revenue, and average retail price data for Texas and Louisiana published in the EPM has been revised. Revisions are designated with an “R.”

Executive Summary

Generation: Net generation in the United States dropped by 2.3 percent from January 2008 to January 2009. This was the sixth consecutive month that net generation was down compared to the same calendar month in the prior year. The Commerce Department reported that real gross domestic product decreased from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2008. Continuing to reflect this decline, total industrial production in January 2009 as reported by the Federal Reserve was 10.0 percent lower than it had been in January 2008, the seventh consecutive month that same-month industrial production was lower than it had been in the previous year. Net generation was down although the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) population-weighted Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI) for January 2009 was 3.0 percent “above average consumption.”

The drop in coal-fired generation was the largest absolute fuel-specific decline from January 2008 to January 2009 as it fell by 9,975 thousand megawatthours, or 5.5 percent. Declines in West Virginia, Georgia, and Florida accounted for 40.1 percent of the coal decline. Natural gas-fired generation was down by 9.6 percent and was second only to coal-fired generation in its contribution to the national drop in net generation, as it was down by 6,941 thousand megawatthours from the January 2008 total. Declines in Texas, Arizona, and California accounted for 84.6 percent of this fall. Generation from conventional hydroelectric plants was 15.4 percent higher in January 2009 than it had been in January 2008. Over three-quarters of the national increase in hydroelectric generation was attributable to higher generation totals in Alabama, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. Net generation from wind sources was 31.6 percent higher than it had been in January 2008. The higher wind generation totals in Texas and Iowa accounted for 50.2 percent of the national rise. Solar generation was down 67.2 percent as seven solar energy generating systems in California generated for only two days in January because of mechanical outages. Petroleum liquid-fired generation was up 61.8 percent compared to a year ago, but its overall share of net generation was still quite small compared to coal, nuclear, natural gas-fired, and hydroelectric sources.

Figure 1: Net Generation by Major Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), February 2008 through January 2009

In January 2009, coal-fired plants contributed 48.9 percent of the Nation’s electric power. Nuclear plants contributed 20.8 percent, while 18.5 percent was generated at natural gas-fired plants. Of the 1.7 percent generated by petroleum-fired plants, petroleum liquids represented 1.4 percent, with the remainder from petroleum coke. Conventional hydroelectric power provided 6.6 percent of the total, while other renewables (biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind) and other miscellaneous energy sources generated the remaining 3.4 percent of electric power (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Net Generation Shares by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), Year-to-Date through January, 2009

Consumption of Fuels: Consumption of coal for power generation in January 2009 was down by 3.4 percent compared to January 2008. For the same time period, consumption of petroleum liquids was up by 56.1 percent while petroleum coke decreased by 16.9 percent. Consumption of natural gas decreased by 9.4 percent.

Fuel Stocks, Electric Power Sector, January 2009

Total electric power sector coal stocks increased between January 2008 and January 2009 by 11.4 million tons. Stocks of bituminous coal (including coal synfuel) increased by 0.9 percent, or 0.6 million tons between January 2008 and January 2009 (from 62.0 to 62.6 million tons). Subbituminous coal stocks grew by 10.3 million tons between January 2008 and January 2009 (from 80.5 to 90.8 million tons).

Electric power sector liquid petroleum stocks totaled 42.2 million barrels at the end of January 2009, a decrease of 5.9 percent (2.7 million barrels) from January 2008. January 2009 stocks were 1.3 percent (0.5 million barrels) lower than at the end of December 2009.

Fuel Receipts and Costs, All Sectors, January 2009

In January 2009, the price of coal to electricity generators increased slightly from the previous month. The downward trend in the price of petroleum liquids continued in January. The cost of natural gas decreased as well. Receipts of coal in January 2009 were down, perhaps as a result of the price increase. There was a small increase in receipts of natural gas while receipts of petroleum liquids increased significantly, most likely due to the significant drop in oil prices.

The average price paid for coal in January 2009 was $2.24 per MMBtu, up 3.7 percent from the price paid in December 2008. It was 17.9 percent higher when compared with the January 2008 price of $1.90 per MMBtu. Receipts of coal in January were 88.0 million tons, down 1.6 percent when compared with December 2008, but unchanged compared to January 2008 coal receipts.

The average price paid for petroleum liquids decreased from $8.56 per MMBtu in December 2008 to $8.16 in January. This was a small decrease (4.7 percent) compared to the 43.3-percent decrease from January 2008. Receipts of petroleum liquids in January 2009 were 9.7 million barrels, a 29.2-percent increase from December 2008 and a 68.7-percent increase from January 2008.

The average price paid for natural gas by electricity generators in January 2009 was $6.34 per MMBtu, a 5.9-percent decrease from the December 2008 level of $6.74. The January price was 20.8 percent lower than the January 2008 price of $8.00 per MMBtu. Receipts of natural gas were 580.5 million Mcf, up 1.7 percent from December 2008 and down 9.0 percent from January 2008.

The overall price for fossil fuels was the same as December 2008 -- $3.40 per MMBtu. This price reflected an 8.1-percent decrease from January 2008.

Figure 3: Electric Power Industry Fuel Costs, February 2008 through January 2009

Sales, Revenue, and Average Retail Price, January 2009

The average retail price of electricity for January 2009 was 9.75 cents per kilowatthour (kWh), 1.1 percent higher than December 2008 when the average retail price of electricity was 9.64 cents per kWh, and 8.5 percent higher than January 2008, when the price was 8.99 cents per kWh. Retail sales between January 2008 and January 2009 decreased 1.8 percent. The average price of residential electricity for January 2009 increased 0.79 cents to 11.03 cents per kWh from January 2008 and was up slightly from 11.00 cents per kWh in December 2008. At 11.03 cents per kWh, the average residential price of electricity increased by 7.7 percent from January 2008.

Sales: For January 2009, sales in the residential and commercial sectors increased by 2.2 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively, while sales in the industrial sector decreased by 11.3 percent, as compared to January 2008. For the month, total retail sales were 319.5 billion kWhs, an increase of 12.2 billion kWhs from December 2008, and a decrease of 1.8 percent or 5.7 billion kWhs from January 2008.

Revenue: Total retail revenues in January 2009 were $31.2 billion, reflecting an increase in revenue of 6.6 percent from January 2008, and a $1.5 billion increase from December 2008. The revenue increase year-over-year can be attributed to higher fuel costs. For January 2009, residential and commercial sector retail revenues increased 10.1 percent and 7.3 percent, respectively, from January 2008, while the industrial sector retail revenues decreased by 4.2 percent, respectively.

Average Retail Price: For the month, average residential retail prices increased slightly to 11.03 cents per kWh from 11.00 cents per kWh in December 2008, although they were 7.7 percent higher than January 2008 when the price was 10.24 cents per kWh. The January 2009 average commercial retail price was 10.03 cents per kWh, a 6.7 percent increase from January 2008 and up slightly from 9.95 cents per kWh in December 2008. The average industrial retail price for January 2009 rose to 6.90 cents per kWh, an 8.0 percent increase over January 2008 and up slightly from 6.88 cents per kWh in December 2008 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Average Retail Price of Electricity to Ultimate Customers by End-Use Sector, Year-to-Date through January 2009 and 2008

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