据天然气加工网站3月3日消息 美国能源情报署（EIA）最近发布的《天然气月报》显示，2019年美国天然气消费量增长3%，达到850亿立方英尺/天的纪录。新增天然气发电量和天然气价格走低带动国内天然气消费量的增加。

美国电力行业的天然气消费量增长了20亿立方英尺/天，增幅为7%，但商业、住宅和工业行业的天然气消费量相对持平。通过管道向墨西哥出口的天然气和液化天然气分别增长了5亿立方英尺/天和20亿立方英尺/天。2019年，电力行业天然气消耗量为310亿立方英尺/天，占美国国内天然气总消耗量的36%。2019年，天然气发电容量增长，尤其是服务于美国中大西洋地区的电网运营公司。

天然气发电量在2016年首次超过燃煤发电量之后，继续占据发电量的最大份额。2019年，天然气占总发电量的38%，其次是煤炭23%、核能20%，新增天然气发电能力继续取代燃煤电厂。2019年，美国现有燃煤发电能力的约5%退役。

天气在很大程度上推动着天然气消费的年度和月度波动。在冬季，美国的天然气消费量处于最高水平，因为天然气是住宅和商业行业供暖的主要燃料。2019年，天然气作为取暖燃料的需求与2018年类似。

天然气消费在夏季高峰较小，此时对空调和电力的需求最大。2019年夏季，相对高温增加了用电量和天然气消耗。美国创下2019年7月美国电力行业用电量月度纪录为411亿立方英尺/天，随后在8月超过这一水平，达到416亿立方英尺/天。过去十年，由于天然气价格的竞争和电厂技术的改进，电力行业一直在向天然气转移。

吴恒磊 编译自 天然气加工

原文如下：

U.S. natural gas consumption sets new record in 2019

U.S. natural gas consumption increased by 3% in 2019, reaching a record of 85.0 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) recently released Natural Gas Monthly. New natural gas-fired electric capacity and lower natural gas prices led the increase in domestic natural gas consumption.

U.S. natural gas consumption grew in the electric power sector by 2.0 Bcf/d, or 7%, but remained relatively flat in the commercial, residential, and industrial sectors. Exports by pipeline to Mexico and as liquefied natural gas (LNG) grew by 0.5 Bcf/d and 2.0 Bcf/d, respectively. In 2019, the electric power sector consumed 31.0 Bcf/d, or 36%, of total domestic U.S. natural gas consumption. Natural gas-fired electric capacity additions grew in 2019, especially in the PJM Interconnection, which serves the U.S. mid-Atlantic region.

Natural gas continues to account for the largest share of electricity generation after first surpassing coal-fired generation on an annual basis in 2016. In 2019, natural gas accounted for 38% of total electricity generation, followed by 23% for coal and 20% for nuclear. New natural gas generation capacity additions have continued to displace coal-fired power plants; about 5% of the total existing U.S. coal-fired capacity was retired in 2019.

Weather largely drives annual and monthly fluctuations in natural gas consumption. During the winter, U.S. natural gas consumption levels are at their highest because natural gas is the predominant fuel for space heating in the residential and commercial sectors. In 2019, demand for natural gas as a heating fuel was similar to 2018 demand.

Natural gas consumption has a smaller peak in the summer when demand for air conditioning, and therefore electricity, is greatest. In the summer of 2019, relatively high temperatures increased electricity usage and natural gas consumption. The United States set a monthly record for U.S. electric power sector consumption of 41.1 Bcf/d in July 2019, then surpassed that level to reach 41.6 Bcf/d in August. The electric power sector has been shifting toward natural gas in the past decade because of competitive natural gas prices and power plant technology improvements.