据EIA3月25日报道，美国能源情报署(EIA)最近发布的《天然气月报》(natural gas Monthly)显示，美国天然气消费量在2018年增长了10%，达到创纪录的821亿立方英尺/天(Bcf/d)。2018年，由于近期天然气发电量的增加和天气相关因素的综合作用，电力行业的天然气日消费量增长了38亿立方英尺，带动了国内所有行业天然气消费量的增长。
2018年，电力行业每天消耗29.1亿立方英尺，占美国天然气总消费量的35%。在2016年首次超过燃煤发电之后，天然气继续占据公用事业规模发电的最高份额。具体来说，天然气占2018年公用事业规模发电量的三分之一(35%)，其次是煤炭(27%)、核能(19%)和水电(7%)。新增的天然气发电量继续取代燃煤发电厂和其他效率较低的电力来源。2018年，新增天然气净发电量约14.5千兆瓦，13千兆瓦的煤炭发电量被淘汰。
天然气消费量的年度波动在很大程度上是由天气造成的。在冬季，美国的天然气消费水平处于最高水平，因为天然气是住宅和商业领域供暖的主要来源。由于天然气在发电中所占的比重越来越大，天然气的消耗量在夏季和冬季都有所增加，而夏季对空调的需求很高，尤其是在南方等地区，电力供暖更为普遍。
2018年，美国经历了几次极端温暖和寒冷的天气，天然气消费量创下历史新高。2018年1月，美国48个州中的大部分经历了较长时间的低温，2018年夏季的月平均气温创下新高，电力行业的天然气使用量有所增加。2018年7月，电力行业天然气消费量创下39.9亿立方英尺/天的历史新高，其次是2018年8月38.6亿立方英尺/天的历史第二高水平。
居民、商业、工业等领域天然气消费也有所增长，分别比2017年增长13%、10%和4%。2018年，商业部门(9.5亿立方英尺/天)和工业部门天然气使用量(22.7亿立方英尺/天)均创下历史新高，而住宅天然气使用量(13.6亿立方英尺/天)达到2014年以来的最高水平。
孔丽炜 摘译自EIA
原文如下：
Power sector pushed domestic U.S. natural gas consumption to new record in 2018
U.S. natural gas consumption increased by 10% in 2018, reaching a record high of 82.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to EIA’s recently released Natural Gas Monthly. Domestic consumption of natural gas increased across all sectors in 2018, led by a 3.8 Bcf/d increase in the electric power sector caused by a combination of recent natural gas-fired electric capacity additions and weather-related factors.
The electric power sector consumed 29.1 Bcf/d in 2018, or 35% of total domestic U.S. natural gas consumption. Natural gas continued to make up the highest share of utility-scale electricity generation after first surpassing coal-fired generation on an annual basis in 2016. Specifically, natural gas accounted for one-third (35%) of utility-scale electricity generation in 2018, followed by coal (27%), nuclear (19%), and hydropower (7%). New natural gas generator capacity additions continued to displace coal-fired power plants and other less efficient sources of electricity. In 2018, about 14.5 gigawatts (GW) of net natural gas capacity were added, while almost 13 GW of coal-fired capacity were retired.
Annual fluctuations in natural gas consumption are largely driven by weather. During the winter, U.S. natural gas consumption levels are at their highest because natural gas is the predominant source of space heating in the residential and commercial sectors. As natural gas makes up a larger share of electricity generation, natural gas consumption increases both in the summer—when air conditioning demand is high—and in the winter, especially in places such as the South where electric space heating is more common.
In 2018, the United States experienced several periods of extremely warm and cold weather, contributing to record-high natural gas consumption. Much of the Lower 48 states experienced prolonged periods of colder-than-normal temperatures in January 2018, and record-high average monthly temperatures during summer 2018 increased natural gas use in the electric power sector. In July 2018, natural gas consumption in the electric power sector set an all-time record of 39.9 Bcf/d, followed by the second-highest recorded level in August 2018 of 38.6 Bcf/d.
Natural gas consumption also grew in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors in 2018, increasing 13%, 10%, and 4% compared with 2017 levels, respectively. Both commercial sector (9.5 Bcf/d) and industrial sector natural gas use (22.7 Bcf/d) reached record highs in 2018, while residential natural gas use (13.6 Bcf/d) reached its highest level since 2014.
