In the U.S. lower 48 states, electric power generated by natural gas-fired power plants reached 6.37 million megawatt hours on July 21, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor.
Despite relatively high natural gas prices, demand for natural gas for electricity generation has been strong throughout July as a result of above-normal temperatures, reduced coal-fired electricity generation and recent natural gas-fired capacity additions.
U.S. electricity demand usually peaks in the summer because of demand for air conditioning. This past July was especially hot, ranking as the third-hottest on record in the United States. Before this year, the previous daily peak for natural gas–fired electricity generation had occurred on July 27, 2020, when natural ga