Electricity Use Was Up Last Year, But Why?

A decade ago, electricity use in the U.S. stopped rising. It had fallen briefly during recessions before, so the initial dip in 2008 and 2009 wasn’t a shock. But after bouncing back in 2010, consumption remained unchanged even as the economy continued to recover. This unprecedented plateau, plus a shift away from coal in electricity generation, enabled an almost 15 percent decline in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. It also exacerbated the coal industry’s troubles and forced utilities to grapple with flat demand.

Over the past year, though, U.S. electricity use rose almost 2.3 percent, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates, by far the biggest increase since 2010. The numbers are preliminary and could be a blip. But any change is worthy of attention.