Executive Summary

Generation: Net generation in the United States dropped by 4.1 percent from May 2008 to May 2009. This was the 10th 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 1.0 percent from the first quarter of 2009 to the second quarter of 2009. Continuing to reflect this decline, industrial production in May 2009, as reported by the Federal Reserve, was 13.4 percent lower than it had been in May 2008, the 11th consecutive month that same-month industrial production was lower than it had been in the previous year. The decline in net generation is also consistent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) population-weighted Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI) for May 2009, which was 1.0 percent “below average consumption.”

The drop in coal-fired generation was the largest absolute fuel-specific decline from May 2008 to May 2009 as it fell by 22,980 thousand megawatthours, or 14.8 percent. Declines in Alabama, Tennessee, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, and West Virginia, accounted for 60.7 percent of the national decrease in coal-fired generation. The May decline was the fifth consecutive month of historically large drops in coal-fired generation from the same month in the prior year, though it was not as precipitous as the drop of 15.3 percent in March or the decline of 15.1 percent in February. The May national level decline was the third-largest percentage decrease in generation since 1974. Generation from natural gas-fired plants was the largest absolute increase in May 2009 as it was up by 6,583 thousand megawatthours, or 10.6 percent from May 2008. Increases in Pennsylvania and Alabama accounted for 51.8 percent of the national rise. Generation from conventional hydroelectric sources was up by 2,705 thousand megawatthours, or 10.2 percent from May 2008. Nuclear generation was up 0.6 percent. Net generation from wind sources was 12.5 percent higher. Higher wind generation totals in the state of Iowa accounted for 52.2 percent of the national increase. This large increase occurred as 11 new Iowa wind farms began generating electricity at the end of 2008. Petroleum liquid-fired generation was down by 8.3 percent compared to a year ago, and its overall share of net generation continued to be quite small compared to coal, nuclear, natural gas-fired, and hydroelectric sources.

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

Year-to-date, total net generation was down 4.5 percent from 2008 levels. Net generation attributable to coal-fired plants was down 12.7 percent. Nuclear generation was up by 1.9 percent. Generation from petroleum liquids was up by 7.3 percent, while natural gas-fired generation was up by 2.4 percent year-to-date. The 12.5-percent jump in wind generation in May contributed to a year-to-date increase of 29.8 percent.

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

Year-to-date, coal-fired plants contributed 45.4 percent of the Nation’s electric power. Nuclear plants contributed 21.0 percent, while 20.8 percent was generated at natural gas-fired plants. Of the 1.2 percent generated by petroleum-fired plants, petroleum liquids represented 0.8 percent, with the remainder from petroleum coke. Conventional hydroelectric power provided 7.5 percent of the total, while other renewables (biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind) and other miscellaneous energy sources generated the remaining 4.2 percent of electric power (Figure 2).

Consumption of Fuels: Consumption of coal for power generation in May 2009 was down by 13.2 percent compared to May 2008. For the same time period, consumption of petroleum liquids was down by 7.0 percent, while petroleum coke increased by 7.7 percent. Consumption of natural gas increased by 9.5 percent.

Fuel Stocks, Electric Power Sector, May 2009

Total electric power sector coal stocks increased between May 2008 and May 2009 by 38.1 million tons. Stocks of bituminous coal (including coal synfuel) increased by 38.0 percent, or 25.0 million tons between May 2008 and May 2009 (from 65.6 to 90.6 million tons). Subbituminous coal stocks grew by 11.5 million tons between May 2008 and May 2009 (from 89.9 to 101.4 million tons). May 2009 was the tenth month in a row that coal stocks were higher than the same month in the prior year.

Electric power sector liquid petroleum stocks totaled 43.5 million barrels at the end of May 2009, a decrease of 1.0 percent (0.4 million barrels) from May 2008. May 2009 stocks were 0.1 percent (0.1 million barrels) lower than at the end of April 2009.

Fuel Receipts and Costs, All Sectors, May 2009

In May 2009, the price of coal, petroleum, and natural gas to electricity generators increased slightly from the previous month. Receipts of petroleum and gas increased during the same timeframe, while receipts of coal decreased.

The average price paid for coal in May 2009 was $2.25 per MMBtu, up 0.9 percent from the price paid in April. It was 9.8 percent higher when compared with the May 2008 price of $2.05 per MMBtu. Receipts of coal in May were 79.9 million tons, down 0.5 percent when compared with April 2009 data and down 10.5 percent from May 2008.

The average price paid for petroleum liquids increased from $9.15 per MMBtu in April 2009 to $9.41 in May. This was a 2.8-percent increase from April and a 46.3-percent decrease from May 2008. Receipts of petroleum liquids in May 2009 were 4.6 million barrels, an increase of 20.1 percent from April 2009 and a 4.2-percent decrease from May 2008.

The average price paid for natural gas by electricity generators in May was $4.46 per MMBtu, a 1.4-percent increase from the April 2009 level of $4.40 and a 58.3-percent decrease from May 2008. Receipts of natural gas were 616.2 million Mcf, up 10.8 percent from April 2009 and up 7.4 percent from May 2008.

The overall price paid by electricity generating plants for fossil fuels was $2.95 per MMBtu in May 2009, a 3.5-percent increase from April 2009 and a 32.0-percent decrease from May 2008. Year-to-date (January through May) 2009 prices compared to the same period last year were up 15.9 percent for coal, down 43.8 percent for petroleum liquids, and down 45.7 percent for natural gas. Year-to-date 2009 receipts compared to the same period last year were down 4.6 percent for coal and up 14.3 percent for petroleum liquids and 0.9 percent for natural gas.

Figure 3: Electric Power Industry Fuel Costs, June 2008 through May 2009

Sales, Revenue, and Average Retail Price, May 2009

The average retail price of electricity for May 2009 was 9.87 cents per kilowatthour (kWh), 1.9 percent higher than April 2009 when the average retail price of electricity was 9.69 cents per kWh, and 3.5 percent higher than May 2008, when the price was 9.54 cents per kWh. Retail sales between May 2008 and May 2009 decreased 4.9 percent. The average price of residential electricity for May 2009 increased 0.38 cents per kWh to 11.86 cents per kWh from May 2008 and was up from 11.59 cents per kWh in April 2009. At 11.86 cents per kWh, the average residential price of electricity increased by 3.3 percent from May 2008.

Sales: For May 2009, sales in the residential sector increased by 2.2 percent, while sales in the commercial and industrial sectors decreased by 2.5 and 15.7 percent, respectively, as compared to May 2008. For the month, total retail sales were 273.1 billion kWh, an increase of 9.5 billion kWh from April 2009, and a decrease of 4.9 percent or 14.2 billion kWh from May 2008. Year-to-date 2009, sales were 1,423.2 billion kWh, a 4.3-percent decrease over the same period for 2008.

Revenue: Total retail revenues in May 2009 were $26.9 billion, reflecting a decrease in revenue of 1.7 percent from May 2008, and a 5.5-percent increase from April 2009. For May 2009, residential sector retail revenues increased 5.5 percent from May 2008, while the commercial and industrial sector retail revenues decreased by 1.8 percent and 14.6 percent, respectively. Year-to-date 2009, revenue increased to $139.1 billion, a 2.0-percent increase over the same period for 2008.

Average Retail Price: For the month, average residential retail prices increased to 11.86 cents per kWh from 11.59 cents per kWh in April 2009, although they were 3.3 percent higher than May 2008 when the price was 11.48 cents per kWh. The May 2009 average commercial retail price was 10.12 cents per kWh, a 0.7-percent increase from May 2008 and up 1.3 percent from April 2009. The average industrial retail price for May 2009 rose to 6.89 cents per kWh, a 1.3-percent increase over May 2008 and up from 6.78 cents per kWh in April 2009. Year-to-date 2009, average retail prices increased to 9.78 cents per kWh, a 6.5-percent increase over the same period for 2008 (Figure 4).

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

Contacts:

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