US energy use in April falls to lowest in 30 years

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Energy consumption of the US in April 2020 fell to its lowest level in more than 30 years as the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has weakened energy demand, the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The US consumed 6.5 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy in April 2020, which was recorded as the lowest monthly energy consumption since September 1989.

Energy consumption in the month of April this year was also 14% less than the same month of last year, and this was the largest year-over-year decline in the US since 1973 for the monthly total energy consumption.

"In 2020, April was the height of stay-at-home measures enacted to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, which caused a large drop in transportation, industrial, and commercial sector energy consumption," the statement said.

"Stay-at-home orders and other travel limitations caused petroleum product supplied, which is a proxy for consumption, for fuels such as motor gasoline and jet fuel to fall to their lowest levels in decades," it added.

The US' petroleum consumption decreased to 14.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in April 2020, from 20.1 million bpd the same month of 2019, marking a 27% decline.

The petroleum use of the US in April 2020 was also the lowest monthly petroleum consumption in the country since May 1983, the EIA noted.