EIA now publishes oil stocks at power plant level

EIA now publishes oil stocks at power plant level
EIA now publishes data on monthly and yearly plant-level oil stocks at electricity-generating power plants. Power plants that burn petroleum liquids (such as distillate or residual fuel oils) are generally used for short periods during times of peak electricity demand. Plants keep oil stocks on hand so they can be prepared to dispatch at the times of peak demand, such as during hot summers and cold winters when coal and natural gas supplies decrease. Otherwise, petroleum-fired power plants operate mostly intermittently, at low capacity factors, because of the high price of petroleum relative to other fuels, air pollution restrictions, and lower efficiencies of their aging generating technology.