Residential electricity demand hits all-time high for April, EIA reports

Residential electricity sales in the United States increased 8 percent in April compared with April 2019, while the commercial and industrial sectors saw decreases of 11 percent and 9 percent in April, reported the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA).

The reason for these numbers relates to the nationwide stay-at-home orders put in place to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The April numbers were an all-time high for residential customers because most people were home in April. Commercial electricity sales in April were the lowest for the month since 2003, while the industrial sales were the lowest since April 1987. The commercial and industrial numbers reflect the fact that most businesses and manufacturing/industrial facilities were close in April.

Across all sectors, April U.S. electricity sales declined 4 percent compared with April of 2019.

Over the previous five Aprils, the U.S. residential sector anticipated about 3.1 million megawatt hours (MWh) per day to be used in April 2020, but the actual residential electricity demand was 3.3 million MWh/day. Further, the daily commercial sector electricity demand is usually about 3.4 million MWh/day in April, while industrial electricity demand is about 2.6 million MWh/day. In reality, April 2020 saw commercial electricity demand fall about 11 percent lower than the typical April value, while industrial electricity demand was 9 percent lower than a typical April.