US EIA: Coal-fired power plants are well-stocked this year
Published by Will Owen,
Editor
World Coal,
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has announced that it expects US coal-fired power plants to remain relatively well-stocked through the end of 2026 in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook.
The EIA estimates that power plants in the US had 124 million short t of coal on-site at the end of June for them to consume that coal at a rate of about 1.3 million short tpd, meaning they had about 93 days’ worth of fuel on-site. This metric, also called days of burn, is calculated by dividing coal inventories held at power plants by a seasonal consumption rate. The EIA forecasts that days of burn will range between approximately 90 and 120 days between now through the end of 2026, or about a month’s worth of coal more than power plants had on-site between 2019 and 2022.
Although coal inventories held at US power plants have fallen since early 2024, coal consumption in the US electric power sector has also fallen since then, so the supply measure of days of burn remains relatively high. Reflecting this supply condition, coal shipments to power plants – many of which occur by rail –have declined in line with coal consumption in the US electric power sector.
The EIA forecasts the long-term decrease in US coal consumption will temporarily reverse in 2025 primarily because of rising electricity demand and coal’s increased competitiveness in the electric power sector, which accounted for more than 90% of US coal consumption in 2024. US natural gas prices last year were at historic lows, and as natural gas prices increased in the first quarter of 2025, coal became more competitive: US coal consumption in 1Q25 was 18% more than in 1Q24.
In its short-term forecast, the EIA expects coal’s share of US electricity generation to increase from 16% in 2024 to 17% in 2025, and then decrease to 15% in 2026. Overall electricity generation is increasing to meet growing electricity demand, especially from the commercial and industrial sectors.
Similarly, the EIA forecasts a 6% increase in US coal consumption for 2025, followed by a 6% decrease in 2026 with planned coal power plant retirements and increasing renewable capacity coming online.
Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/31072025/us-eia-coal-fired-power-plants-are-well-stocked-this-year/