Houston — Duke Energy Florida's coal generation mix fell to 8.1% in June, down from 10% expected for the month and down from 9.4% in May, the utility said in a state regulatory filing.
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Register NowThe regulated utility, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, told the Florida Public Service Commission July 20 that it burned 143,523 st of coal in June, down from 181,613 st projected to be burned during the month, but up from 140,193 st in May. The latest month was down from 223,183 st burned in the year-ago month, which made up 11.9% of the generation mix.
Natural gas burn was at 25.65 Bcf in June, or an 89.8% mix, compared with 21.85 Bcf, or 88.1%, burned in May, and 26.15 Bcf, or 87.5%, in the year-ago month.
In June, Florida city-gate gas prices averaged $1.823/MMBtu, down from $1.853/MMBtu in May and $2.687/MMBtu in the year-ago month, according to S&P Global Platts.
Duke Energy Florida's Crystal River coal-fired plant generated 303,866 MWh in June, down from 313,029 MWh in May and 471,976 MWh in the year-ago month.
Total coal burn this year through June was at 362,862 st, down from 815,532 st burned in the first six months of 2019. Generation mix for coal was at 4.3% through June, down from 9.3% a year ago.
The average fuel cost for coal was at $3.67/MMBtu in June, flat from a month earlier but higher than natural gas' average of $2.90/MMBtu in June.
Coal purchases tick lower on month
Duke Energy Florida's coal purchases in June totaled 133,432 st, down from 139,943 st in May and 172,983 st in the year-ago month. The utility purchased 545,470 st of coal in 2020 through June, compared with 414,781 st expected for the period and 606,992 st purchased in the first six months of 2019.
At the end of June, Duke Energy Florida's coal inventory was at 520,729 st, or 109 days of supply, compared with 530,819 st, or 117 days, after May and 417,395 st in the year-ago month, or 56 days cover.
In 2019, over 2.01 million st was delivered to Duke Energy Florida, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.
The delivered coal, which came from mines in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, had an average heat content of 11,976 Btu/lb at an average cost of $56.01/st, according to the EIA data.
The majority of the coal came from Alliance Coal and Knight Hawk Coal. Alliance shipped 787,732 st of 12,189 Btu/lb coal at an average delivered price of $53.80/st, while Knight Hawk delivered 768,963 st of 11,162 Btu/lb coal at $53.05/st.