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Electric Power Monthly & Electricity Monthly Update – October 2012

The Electricity Monthly Update, October 2012 edition presenting August 2012 data, has been released.  Highlights include:

• Cooling degree days in the continental United States decreased 4.9 percent from last August (although, total cooling degree days were still above normal this August), leading to a decrease in retail electricity sales, especially in the residential sector.

• Average wholesale electricity prices remained below $50/MWh for most of the country in August, though there were numerous days in ERCOT, CAISO, NYISO, and at Palo Verde where prices ranged between $50/MWh and $100/MWh.

• After reaching a low of $2.03 / MMBtu in April 2012, the price of Henry Hub natural gas has increased by over 44 percent to $2.93 / MMBtu in August 2012.

• This issue contains a feature article that discusses the cooling systems used at power plants.

See the full Electricity Monthly Update report at:

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/update/

The Electric Power Monthly, October 2012 edition presenting August 2012 data, has been released.  Highlights include:

• In August 2012, net generation in the United States was down 2.6 percent from August 2011.

• Retail sales of electricity were down 2.3 percent from August 2011.

• The average U.S. retail price of electricity in August 2012 was down 1.4 percent from August 2011.

See the full Electric Power Monthly report at:

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/

Contact: Electricity data experts