U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday the nation’s power plant operators generated 6.9 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity from natural gas on a daily basis in the lower 48 states July 9. It’s probably the most in history and certainly since at least Jan. 1, 2019, when EIA began collecting hourly data about natural gas generation.
The spike in natural gas-fired generation July 9 was attributed to high temperatures across most of the country and a steep drop in wind generation.
According to the National Weather Service, most of the United States experienced temperatures well above average July 9. Temperatures were particularly high on the west and east coasts.
Wind generation in the lower 48 states totaled 0.3 million MWh July 9, much lower than the 1.3 million MWh daily average in June 2024.