Generating power with natural gas will come close to equaling generation from coal in April and May, the US Energy Information Administration predicts in its May Short-Term Energy Outlook report, released Tuesday. Coal and gas generation are expected to make up 31.7% and 30.7%, respectively, of all generation in the US in April, EIA said. For May, EIA predicts coal to make up 33% of all generation and gas to account for 31.6%. Recent low gas prices have significantly increased the use of the fossil fuel rather than coal for generation, the EIA said, with utility switching in April and May resulting in the closest convergence in generation shares between the two fuels since April 2012, when gas prices neared record lows. Coal consumption in the electric power sector will fall 6% in 2015, making up 35.8% of all generation, the EIA said. The use of gas-fired generation is […]