Changes in behavior due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with colder temperatures, will result in greater residential natural gas consumption during the 2020/21 winter, according to a forecast from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

natural gas consumption

The EIA’s most recent projections show residential natural gas consumption averaging 21.1 Bcf/d from October 2020 through March 2021, a 5% increase from last winter. 

“EIA expects work-from-home and virtual schooling policies to affect winter residential consumption because, with more people at home during the day, residential space heating demand will increase compared to last winter,” the agency said in a research note published Monday.

Meanwhile, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) projections point to 602...