SPB - Excellent - Record Q On Low Propane ConsumptionMAY 17, 2023 Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly
Note: Propane consumption is measured as product supplied.
We estimate that U.S. propane consumption averaged 0.986 million barrels per day (b/d) during the 2022–23 winter heating season (October through March), the least for a winter heating season on record, starting in 2010. Reduced average winter U.S. propane consumption was influenced by less consumption during the coldest winter months of December, January, and February. Based on our recently released Petroleum Supply Monthly, U.S. propane consumption during those three months averaged 1.07 million b/d, also the least since 2010. The lower consumption is primarily the result of warmer-than-normal temperatures during the winter. The consumption of propane is closely correlated with temperature in the United States during the winter and the resulting demand for heating.
Mild winter temperatures reduced propane consumption in the U.S. residential and commercial sectors. The U.S. Midwest and Northeast account for 54% of the 6.3 million U.S. households that report using propane as their primary space heating fuel. The lower propane demand this winter reduced U.S. propane prices compared with last winter.
Wholesale propane prices at the U.S. benchmark location of Mont Belvieu, Texas, averaged $0.81 per gallon (gal) during the 2022–23 winter heating season, compared with an average of $1.28/gal last winter.