HOUSTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - U.S. coal consumption during
the past week fell 2 percent from the previous week due to weak demand in the East and was 9 percent below the same week last year, Genscape said Friday.
Consumption in the populous East for the week ended
Thursday fell 2 percent from the previous week and was 10
percent less than the same week in 2008, the power data
provider said.
In the less populated West, coal demand fell 1 percent from
the previous week and was 2 percent below the same week a year ago. "The decline in demand in the South Atlantic region was particularly noteworthy, with the rate of decrease this week approaching double digits," Genscape said.
Fuel-switching from coal to inexpensive natural gas is
increasing, and some large coal plants were offline during the week, Genscape said.
The regional indexes are calculated separately from the
national index. They do not always add up to a number equaling
the separately calculated U.S. total, Genscape has said.
Region Nov 19 Last wk Yr ago Pct wk Pct yr
Nation 18.04 18.50 19.93 -2 -9
East 15.70 16.03 17.52 -2 -10
West 2.46 2.47 2.50 -1 -2
(Reporting by Bruce Nichols; editing by Jim Marshall)
https://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKN2041711520091120