How do extreme heat waves affect the nation’s electricity spending and consumption?

Though heating buildings and homes take more energy than cooling them, the summer months and the heat waves can strain the country’s energy system greatly. The US Energy Information Adminstration (EIA) released a short blog on July 25, reporting that on July 9, with temperatures “well above average,” energy generated from natural gas possibly hit the highest level on record. The agency only began keeping records of this nature in 2019, making it impossible to confirm. What caused the surge? Increased energy demand as AC units and systems were switched on and “a steep drop in wind generation.”

New England’s summer heatwaves and energy generation

Earlier this week, the EIA reported that heat waves have increased reliance on energy generation from fossil fuels across New England. The strong heat led to a surge in the use of air-conditioners, sending natural gas consumption soaring above the five-year averages tracked by the federal agency. Typically, in mid-to-late June and early-to-mid July, around 48 and 54 percent of energy generated came from natural gas. “Natural gas-fired electricity generation made up 56% of New England’s generation mix during the week of the June 16 heat wave, peaking at 61% on June 22,” reported the EIA. In July, as temperatures rose again, thirty-one percent more energy was generated compared to the five-year average. For residents and policymakers, the episodes are of real concern as they highlight the region’s continued dependence on fossil fuels, with “natural gas-fired generation supplied more than half of all the electricity generated in the region.” The EIA also noted that petroleum consumption, though not the dominant energy source in the state, rose during the heat waves to fill some of the gaps created by increased energy demand.

What role did renewables play?

As far as renewables are concerned, New England was able to import electricity from Canada and New York, though the levels do not come close to the energy derived from fossil fuels during the heat waves. In mid-June, energy from “wind, solar, and hydropower generation accounted for 12% of generation,” and during the July heatwave, that figure rose to 11 percent. Nuclear energy also accounted for around a fifth of energy generation during the two heatwaves analyzed by the EIA.