ABSTRACT
Opportunities for synfuels, exports and industrial consumption have waned in the face of falling oil prices, surplus gas and reduced economic growth. Electric utilities have dominated most of the recent swings in the coal markets and future coal-fired generation will be critical to regional coal production, excess mining productive capacity and coal prices. Electric utility oil and gas consumption will increase in the early 1990's as electricity growth catches up with current excess capacity. Much of this "excess" consists of higher cost oil and gas-fired powerplants built in the 1960's and early 1970's. Excess baseload nuclear and coal-fired generation capacity, built in anticipation of growth in demand that did not occur, reduced utility oil/gas consumption in the 1980's. It will also grow to serve Midwestern high sulfur powerplants shifting to lower sulfur coals as a result of tall stacks regulations and the assumed acid rain mitigation program.
