Natural gas consumption in the United States has two seasonal peaks, largely reflecting weather-related fluctuations in energy demand. In the winter months, cold weather leads to more demand for heating in the residential and commercial sectors. In the summer months, warm weather leads to more demand for air conditioning and, in turn, more demand for electricity. Because natural gas continues to account for an increasing share of the fuels used to generate electricity in the United States, natural gas consumption by the electric power sector has increased throughout the year.