Electricity consumption in the United States was about 4 trillion kilowatthours (kWh) in 2022
Electricity is an essential part of modern life and important to the U.S. economy. People use electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, and refrigeration and for operating appliances, computers, electronics, machinery, and public transportation systems. Total U.S. electricity consumption in 2022 was about 4.05 trillion kWh, the highest amount recorded and 14 times greater than electricity use in 1950. Total annual U.S. electricity consumption increased in all but 11 years between 1950 and 2022, and 8 of the years with year-over-year decreases occurred after 2007.
Total electricity end-use consumption includes retail sales of electricity to consumers and direct use electricity.1 Direct use electricity is used by the same industrial or commercial sector facility where it is produced. The industrial sector accounts for most direct use electricity. Total direct use of electricity by the industrial and commercial sectors was about 3% of total electricity end-use consumption in 2022.
Total U.S. electricity end-use consumption in 2022 was about 2.6% higher than in 2021. In 2022, retail electricity sales to the residential sector were about 3.5% higher than in 2021, and retail electricity sales to the commercial sector were about 3.4% higher than in 2021. Electricity retail sales to the industrial sector in 2022 were about 0.7% higher than in 2021 but were about 5.3% lower than in 2000, the year of highest U.S. retail sales to the industrial sector. The industrial sector's percentage share of total U.S. electricity retail sales was about 31% in 2000 and 26% in 2022.
The retail sales of electricity to major consuming sectors and percentage share of total electricity retail sales in 2022 were:
residential1.42 trillion kWh38.9%
commercial1.37 trillion kWh35.1%
industrial1.01 trillion kWh25.8%
transportation (mostly to public transit systems)0.01 trillion kWh0.2%
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Electricity was first sold in the United States in 1879 by the California Electric Light Company in San Francisco, which produced and sold only enough electricity to power 21 electric lights (Brush arc light lamps).
Heating and cooling are the largest residential electricity uses
Heating and cooling (air conditioning) account for the largest annual uses of electricity in the residential sector. Because these uses are mainly weather related, the amounts and their shares of total annual residential electricity consumption vary from year to year. The Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) data for 2015 indicate that heating was the largest use of electricity in homes. The Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) provides estimates and projections for annual electricity use in the residential sector by type of end use.
U.S. electricity retail sales to major end-use sectors and electricity direct use by all sectors, 1950-2022
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An interactive area flow chart showing the amount of annual U.S. retail electricity sales to major end-use sectors and electricity direct use by all sectors in 1950 through 2022.
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The chart has 1 Y axis displaying trillion kilowatthours. Range: 0 to 4.5.
MonthlyEnergy Review, Table 7.6, March 2023, preliminary data for2022
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U.S. residential sector electricity consumption by major end uses, 2022
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An interactive pie chart showing the projected percentage shares of annual U.S. electricity retail sales to the residential sector by major types of end uses in 2022.
AnnualEnergy Outlook 2022, Table 4, March 2023Note: Space heating includes consumption for heat andoperating furnace fans and boiler pumps. All other usesincludes clothes washers and dryers, dishwashers, cookingequipment, miscellaneous electric and electronic devices,heating elements, and motors not included in other uses.
space cooling 18.1 %
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Computers and office equipment account for the largest share of commercial sector electricity consumption
Five uses of electricity hold the largest shares of total annual electricity use in the commercial sector: computers and office equipment (combined), refrigeration, space cooling, lighting, and ventilation.
Historically, electricity use for lighting usually accounted for the largest share of total annual commercial sector electricity use, but its share has declined over time mainly because of the increasing use of high efficiency lighting equipment. Conversely, the amount and share of electricity use for computers and office equipment has increased over time. Space cooling requirements are determined by weather, climate, and building design, and by heat produced by lighting equipment, computers, office equipment, miscellaneous appliances, and building occupants.
The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) provides detailed data on electricity use in commercial buildings in selected years. The AEO provides estimates and projections for annual electricity use by the commercial sector.
U.S. commercial sector electricity consumption by major end uses, 2022
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An interactive pie chart showing the estimated percentage shares of annual U.S. electricity retail sales to the commercial sector by major types of end uses in 2022.
AnnualEnergy Outlook 2023, Table 5, March 2023Note: Space cooling, and space and water heating includesfuel consumption for district services. All other usesincludes (but is not limited to) cooking equipment andmiscellaneous uses such as transformers, medical imagingand other medical equipment, elevators, escalators, off-roadelectric vehicles, laboratory fume hoods, laundry equipment,coffee brewers, and water services.
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U.S. manufacturing electricity consumption by major end uses, 2018
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An interactive pie chart showing the types and shares of major electricity end uses of total annual U.S. electricity consumption by U.S. manufacturers in 2018
ManufacturingEnergy Consumption Survey, 2018, Table 5.1, February 2021
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Machine drives are the largest use of electricity by U.S. manufacturers
The industrial sector uses electricity to operate machinery and manufactureing facilities. Some industries—such as aluminum and steel manufacturing, use electricity for process heat, and other industries—such as food processors, use electricity for cooling, freezing, and refrigerating food. Many manufacturers, especially pulp and paper and lumber mills, generate their own electricity for direct use, mostly in combined heat and power systems. Some manufactures sell some of the electricity that they generate.
The Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS) provides detailed data on electricity use by type of manufacturer and by major end uses in selected years. The AEO provides estimates and projections for annual electricity purchases by the industrial sector and by type of industry and manufacturer. According to the AEO2023 Reference case, in 2022, manufacturers account for about 78% of total annual industrial sector electricity purchases, followed by construction (8%), mining (8%), and agriculture (7%).2
Electricity use in the United States is projected to grow slowly
Although near-term U.S. electricity demand may fluctuate as a result of year-to-year changes in weather, trends in long-term demand tend to be driven by economic growth offset by increases in energy end-use efficiency. In the AEO2023 Reference case, the annual growth in total U.S. electricity demand is projected to average about 1% from 2022 through 2050.
World electricity use may grow fastest in non-OECD countries
The member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) accounted for about 40% of total world electricity consumption in 2021. In the projections of the International Energy Outlook 2021 Reference case, non-OECD country electricity consumption will grow about 2% per year and OECD member country electricity use will grow about 1% per year through 2050. OECD nations' share of world electricity use will be 33% in 2050.3
