EIA Revises Estimates to Account for Global Warming

Newsbriefs

Is this good news or bad? The Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (EIA), the agency that tracks energy consumption statistics and comes up with official projections, is revising its energy demand estimates downward to account for global warming. For the 12-month period from the fourth quarter of 1999 through the third quarter of 2000, energy demand for residential and commercial space heating and cooling are projected to change as follows: fuel oil demand down 0.71%; total petroleum demand down 0.15%; natural gas demand down 0.83%; fossil fuel demand for electricity generation up 0.03%; total electricity sales up 0.01%, and total primary energy demand down 0.26%. The projected electricity demand is for increased cooling degree-days. These findings were reported in a September 1999 paper by Michael Morris of EIA: “The Impact of Temperature Trends on Short-Term Energy Demand.”