U.S. Coal Consumption Up 5 PCNFor Week: Genscape
Country: USA
U.S. coal use rose 5 percent last week from the week before and was 18 percent greater than the same week last year, Genscape said Friday.
In the populous East, coal consumption for the week ended Thursday rose 6 percent from the previous week and was up 17 percent from the same week last year.
In the less-populated West, coal use jumped 9 percent from the week before and 6 percent from the same week last year.
Above-normal temperatures moving from the Midwest and Texas eastward over the week helped increase coal use across much of the country.
The recovering economy and uncompetitive natural gas prices fueled the year-over-year increase.
For reports on U.S. energy weather day by day, seeand.
Coal use swings up and down seasonally, and varies from week to week and region to region, depending on electricity demand to power heaters and run air-conditioners.
Consumption also depends on the health of the U.S. economy with coal-fired generators providing half the electricity.
Genscape's regional indexes are calculated separately from the national index and do not always add up to the separately calculated U.S. total, Genscape has said.
