BENTEK Top Stories

03/20/2017–
Southeast/Gulf/Texas Observer

Demand falls from last week's high on warmer weather

Warmer temperatures returning to the Southeast since early last week have prompted regional demand to fall 7 Bcf/d from its highest levels since early January. Regional demand peaked at 24.8 Bcf/d March 15 as temperatures fell to 42 degrees Fahrenheit, 16 F below the seasonal norm. This ranked as the fourth highest demand day of the year, slightly behind the 26.2 Bcf/d average between January 7-9.  Demand has since declined to 17.9 Bcf/d as temperatures warmed to 60 F, with the decline mostly split between ResComm and power burn. Since March 15, ResComm had fallen 3.2 Bcf/d and power burn 3.1 Bcf/d, along with slight declines observed for industrial demand and LNG feedgas. The remainder of the month is expected to average nearly 5 F above normal in the region at 66 F, which is expected to keep demand relatively stable as slight declines in heating demand are offset by the appearance of cooling degree days.