How the US power sector is shaping up: An indicator perspective (Part 9 of 12)
Electricity generation in the US
In October 2014, the net electricity generation in the US was 313.9 million megawatt-hours (or MWH). Electricity output was down by 0.2% in October, compared to the same month last year. Major sources—coal, natural gas, and nuclear energy—derived 86.3% of the electricity produced in the US for the month.
Electricity generation by sources
Electricity generation from natural gas surged by 9.8% in October 2014 compared to October 2013. This is the biggest year-over-year (or YoY) jump in natural gas electricity generation in 2014. Louisiana-based Entergy Corporation (ETR) has high exposure of natural gas generation capacity.
The only source other than natural gas that saw YoY growth in electricity generation for the month of October was renewable energy. Electricity generation from renewable sources increased by 7.8% in October compared to the same month last year. Renewable sources had positive YoY electricity generation growth all through 2014.
During the same period, electricity generation from coal-fired plants dropped by 7.8%. This is the seventh month in a row when electricity generation from coal has decreased on a year-over-year basis. A high proportion of generation capacity of American Electric Power Company (AEP) and First Energy (FE) are based on coal-fired power plants. Both the companies are part of the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU).
Electricity generation from nuclear power plants fell by 1.3% in October 2014 over generation levels in October last year. This is the biggest year-over-year jump in nuclear electricity generation in 2014. Exelon Corporation (EXC) produces the maximum nuclear power among all companies in the US. It owns nuclear capacity of nearly 19,000 megawatts in the US.
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