Ten years ago, U.S. utility industry experts would not have expected coal to rank second to natural gas in electricity generation, but that is what happened in the United States in April 2015. Gas generators’ share of electricity generation for the month was about one percentage point more than the share for coal-fired plants. According to the Energy Information Administration’s Electric Power Monthly, gas-fired plants produced 92,516 gigawatt hours in April, compared with 88,835 gigawatt hours of coal-fired generation—4 percent more.(i] Whether this is a one-time phenomenon or a new trend will be determined in the months to come as April tends to be a slow month for electricity demand allowing many coal-fired plants to undergo maintenance.
