<article><p class="lead">Electricity generated by natural gas in the continental US hit a record on 26 July as consumers cranked up their air conditioners, according to analysts at BTU Analytics.</p><p>US lower-48 natural gas generation on 26 July was 6.41 TWh, the highest ever recorded, according to BTU data. The top 10 days for highest gas-fired generation all occurred within the last 13 months.</p><p>The same day, 26 July, also saw the third-highest gas-for-power burn on record, at 48.9 Bcf/d (1.4bn m3/d). The all-time record of 49.7 Bcf/d was set on 21 July.</p><p>The fact that 26 July had the highest gas-fired generation but not the highest gas-for-power burn implies that newer, more efficient gas plants are producing a higher percentage of electricity than a year earlier.</p><p>This is consistent with both records having been set so recently, as one of the biggest trends in power markets in recent years has been the rapid displacement of coal for power generation with gas. Power utilities across the country have been <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2471149">retiring coal plants to replace them</a> with gas.</p><p>Tennessee Valley Authority, for instance, is <a href="https://direct.argusmedia.com/newsandanalysis/article/2450138">considering retiring its entire coal fleet</a> by the mid-2030s. The reasons include the costs of maintaining and upgrading old coal plants, the alternative cost of cheap gas, and the evolving regulatory environment, which is a threat to coal-fired generation, as it produces about twice the planet-warming emissions as gas.</p><p>Roughly one-fourth of the US coal-fired generation fleet is expected to <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=54559">retire</a> by the end of 2029.</p><p>As gas continues to displace coal, new US gas-fired generation records are likely to be continuously set.</p><p>This week's high power burn was a boon to gas producers — many of whom posted losses in the second quarter because of low gas prices — who touted the record power burn as evidence of continuing demand for gas-fired power.</p><p>The continental US had 13 population-weighted cooling degree days (CDDs) on 26 July, meaning the median US resident experienced an average temperature of 78°F (26°C) that day, according to the US National Weather Service. Only two other days this year — 14-15 July — had as many CDDs.</p><p>Above-average temperatures were expected in much of the US south and west through 11 August, according to the private forecaster Commodity Weather Group.</p><p class="bylines">By Julian Hast</p></article>
