Published on EGEE 401: Energy in a Changing World (https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee401)

Home > EGEE 401 > Unit 3, Lesson 5 > Domestic Electricity Demand

Domestic Electricity Demand

To understand current and projected domestic electricity demand, we'll use data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment. EIA is the nation's premier source of energy information and, by law, its data, analyses, and forecasts are independent of approval by any other officer or employee of the U.S. government.

EIA conducts a comprehensive data collection program that covers the full spectrum of energy sources, end uses, and energy flows. EIA also prepares informative energy analyses, monthly short-term forecasts of energy market trends, and long-term U.S. and international energy outlooks. EIA disseminates its data, analyses, and other products primarily through its website, EIA.gov.

The Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 established EIA as the primary federal government authority on energy statistics and analysis, building upon systems and organizations first established in 1974 following the oil market disruption of 1973. Located in Washington, DC, EIA is an organization of about 370 federal employees, with an annual budget in Fiscal Year 2016 of $122 million.

Source: Energy Information Administration Mission and Overview [1]

Each year, the EIA publishes its Annual Energy Outlook. This publication provides longterm projections of energy supply, demand, and prices, based on results from EIA's National Energy Modeling System [2] (NEMS). The EIA's future projections are based on sets of assumptions called cases (same as "scenarios").

Annual Energy Outlook 2017 (AEO2017) considers a Reference case (assumes current trends, laws and regulations) and five side cases: Low and High Oil Price, Low and High Economic Growth, and High Oil and Gas Resource and Technology. (For more info, see Introduction [3]). The EIA explains, "Projections by EIA are not statements of what will happen but rather modeled projections of what may happen given certain assumptions and methodologies." (page 4)

Now, we'll drill down into domestic electricity generation and demand. The steps below direct you to a specific document on the EIA site, but along the way you'll see links to all kinds of related information and resources. If you have a few minutes to spare, take time to poke around!

Research Energy Data

Visit the U.S. Energy Information Administration [4] website

  • Under "Outlooks," select and download "Annual Energy Outlook 2017" (release date January 5, 2017)
  • In "Overview/key takeaways", read (closely scan, pages 7-10 and 19-20.
  • In "Electricity Generation," read (closely scan, pages 69-70 and 75-76.

Return to U.S. Energy Information Administration [4]

  • Under "Sources & Uses," select "Electricity."
  • Near the top of the page, hover over the tab "Analysis & Projections". Under "Major Topics", select "Sales, revenue & prices"
  • Under Results, scroll down and open State Electricity Profiles (You'll need this table for the Lesson Activity)

 


Source URL: https://www.e-education.psu.edu/egee401/content/p5_p3.html

Links
[1] http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/abouteia/mission_overview.cfm
[2] http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/appendixe.cfm
[3] http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/chapter_intro.cfm
[4] http://www.eia.doe.gov/