American Energy Efficiency Success Could Ease Future Electricity Cost Increases

A good question from an especially thoughtful reader sent me double-checking a claim in a Kentucky Living column about electricity. The extra research revealed that, as with so many things, there’s a story behind the story.

The January Energy 101 column blamed the recession of the past couple of years for a decline in electricity sales. The column claimed electricity use matches the performance of the economy.

Hold on, wrote this reader: “Shouldn’t there be some credit given for the downward trend being due to energy conservation and energy savings as a result of all the bombarding articles your magazine and others like it hit us with every month, telling us to conserve and scaring the heck out of us about the future high cost of energy? Shouldn’t folks get credit for doing a better job of conserving and using less energy?”

Yes.

More TVs, less energy
Americans have gotten more efficient at using energy. In the past 25 years, the average person’s energy use actually declined slightly, 2.5 percent. In that same period, the U.S. economy grew 122 percent.

Here’s the rest of the story.

It’s true that caulking drafty doors and replacing less-efficient windows deserve credit. But it took more than that to actually decrease energy use at the same time we were massively adding large-screen TVs, computers, and cell phones to our lifestyle.

Lots of sectors of the economy got more efficient, including electric utilities. Another huge factor is the shift from an energy-intensive industrial economy to one that’s more service-oriented.

The recession has slowed the growth in use of electricity. But so has efficiency. The historical link between economic growth and electricity use is a lot weaker, but it’s still there.

That means as the economy and the population grow, electricity use will increase. And that will mean expenses for new electricity production and the power lines to get it to your home. Environmental concerns will add yet another layer of cost increases.

Electricity costs will rise, but probably not as much as they might have, thanks to Americans’ energy-efficiency efforts.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work.