Otis Singleton
The end-users of electricity are the consumers who purchase it for their own use. These consumers can be residential, commercial, or industrial. The residential sector includes single-family homes and multi-family housing, and it accounts for more than a third of the electricity used nationwide. The commercial sector includes retail electricity sales to businesses, while the industrial sector includes facilities and equipment used for processing, producing, or assembling goods. Additionally, the transportation sector also consumes electricity, although it accounts for a small fraction of total electricity consumption. The electric power sector generates and sells electricity to these end-use sectors, and the amount of energy consumed is measured through electricity meters, with customers typically being charged a monthly service fee plus additional charges based on their monthly consumption.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | The final sale of electricity from generation to the end-use consumer |
| End-use sectors | Residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation |
| Use cases | Lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, operating appliances, computers, electronics, machinery, and public transportation systems |
| Energy consumption | The total U.S. electricity end-use consumption in 2022 was about 3.2% higher than in 2021 |
| Energy sources | Petroleum, natural gas, renewable energy |
| Energy efficiency | End-users can reduce electricity use through energy efficiency |
| Billing | Monthly service fee plus charges based on consumption |
| Competition | Deregulation has allowed for competition among electricity retailers |
| Green power | Customers can opt to purchase "green" power, i.e., electricity sourced from renewable energy |
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What You'll Learn
- Residential, commercial, and industrial customers each account for roughly one-third of a nation's electricity use
- The transportation sector consumes most of its energy by burning fossil fuels
- Electricity is used for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and operating appliances
- The industrial sector uses electricity for processing, producing, and assembling goods
- Electricity retailing is the final sale of electricity from generation to the end-use consumer
Residential, commercial, and industrial customers each account for roughly one-third of a nation's electricity use
The end-users of electricity are the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors. In the US, these sectors each account for roughly one-third of the nation's electricity use.
Residential customers use electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and operating appliances, computers, and other electronics. The residential sector includes single-family homes and multi-family housing, and it accounts for more than a third of the electricity used nationwide.
Commercial customers use electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, and operating machinery and electronic devices. Retail electricity sales to the commercial sector have been increasing, with a 4.7% increase in 2022 compared to 2021.
Industrial customers use electricity for processing, producing, or assembling goods in diverse industries such as manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and construction. More than half of the electricity used in manufacturing powers various motors, with other uses including heating, cooling, and electro-chemical processes. The industrial sector's share of total US electricity retail sales has decreased over time, from 31.1% in 2000 to 26% in 2022.
The transportation sector also consumes electricity, but it accounts for a small fraction of total electricity use. This includes electric vehicles, vans, trucks, buses, and public transportation systems such as subways and electric rails. While the transportation sector currently consumes most of its energy through fossil fuels, the widespread adoption of electric vehicles could lead to an increase in electricity consumption in this sector.
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The transportation sector consumes most of its energy by burning fossil fuels
The end-users of electricity include residential, commercial, and industrial customers, each accounting for about one-third of the nation's electricity consumption. The transportation sector, on the other hand, accounts for a small fraction of electricity use. While some vehicles use electricity from the electric power grid, the transportation sector primarily consumes energy by burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
In 2023, petroleum products accounted for about 89% of the total US transportation sector energy use. Gasoline, including motor gasoline and aviation gasoline, dominated transportation fuel use, constituting 52% of the sector's total energy consumption in 2022. Distillate fuels, mainly diesel, accounted for 23%, while jet fuel made up 12%. Biofuels contributed about 6%, most of which were blended with petroleum-based fuels.
The heavy reliance on fossil fuels in the transportation sector results in significant environmental impacts. Transport accounts for over a third of CO2 emissions from end-use sectors. To reduce carbon emissions, there is a growing emphasis on shifting to less carbon-intensive travel options, such as walking, cycling, and public transportation. Additionally, the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is being promoted as a crucial step towards decarbonization.
While long-distance air, maritime, and long-haul road travel pose greater challenges for decarbonization, policies and incentives play a pivotal role in accelerating the transition to cleaner transportation. Budget-neutral feebate programs, fuel taxation, and stringent vehicle efficiency standards have proven effective in increasing EV adoption.
As the electric car market matures, direct subsidies can be phased out, replaced by incentives for charging infrastructure and battery manufacturing. With continued advancements and policy support, the transportation sector can reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and contribute to global efforts to mitigate climate change.
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Electricity is used for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and operating appliances
Electricity is an essential part of modern life and is used across various sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation. People across these sectors use electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and operating appliances.
In the residential sector, electricity is used for lighting, water heating, refrigeration, and powering appliances such as televisions, cooking appliances, clothes washers and dryers. It is also used for electronics like computers, tablets, smartphones, and video game consoles. The share of electricity used for lighting has declined over time due to the increasing use of high-efficiency lighting equipment, such as LEDs, which use significantly less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.
In the commercial sector, electricity is used for lighting, space cooling, computers and office equipment, and miscellaneous appliances. The amount of electricity used for space cooling is influenced by factors such as weather, climate, building design, and heat-producing equipment.
The industrial sector uses electricity for processing, producing, or assembling goods in industries like manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and construction. This sector also uses electricity for operating machinery and facilities, and some industries, such as aluminium and steel manufacturing, use electricity for process heat.
The transportation sector primarily consumes energy through fossil fuels, but some vehicles use electricity from the power grid, including electric cars, vans, trucks, buses, and rail systems. The share of electricity used in the transportation sector is expected to increase as electric vehicles become more widespread.
Overall, electricity consumption has been growing, with the total U.S. electricity consumption in 2022 reaching about 4.07 trillion kWh, a significant increase from 1950. This growth is projected to continue, driven by economic growth and the expansion of electricity grids globally.
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The industrial sector uses electricity for processing, producing, and assembling goods
End-users of electricity include residential, commercial, and industrial customers, with each sector accounting for about one-third of the nation's electricity use. The industrial sector uses electricity for operating industrial motors and machinery, lights, computers, office equipment, and equipment for facility heating, cooling, and ventilation.
The industrial sector consists of all facilities and equipment used for producing, processing, or assembling goods. This includes diverse industries such as manufacturing, mining, agriculture, and construction. In 2018, manufacturing accounted for about 78% of total US industrial sector end-use energy consumption.
Manufacturers use electricity to operate equipment and associated manufacturing facilities. The amount of electricity used by US manufacturers has varied over time, but the percentage share of annual energy use has remained fairly consistent at about 14%. Most of the electricity consumed by manufacturers is purchased, but some generate their own electricity onsite.
Within the industrial sector, manufacturing accounts for the largest share of annual industrial energy consumption, followed by mining, construction, and agriculture. Manufacturing involves the physical, mechanical, or chemical transformation of materials or substances into new products. Chemical manufacturers, in particular, are major consumers of nonfuel energy/feedstocks, accounting for about 70% of total nonfuel energy feedstocks use by manufacturing in 2018.
Overall, the industrial sector uses electricity for processing, producing, and assembling goods, with manufacturing being the most significant subsector in terms of energy consumption.
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Electricity retailing is the final sale of electricity from generation to the end-use consumer
Electricity is an essential part of modern life, with people using it for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, and operating appliances, machinery, electronics, and public transportation systems. The end-users of electricity can be categorized into four broad sectors: residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation.
Today, electricity retailing involves the sale of electricity by power companies or public utilities to end-users. The basic principle of supply has remained relatively unchanged, with the amount of energy consumed by the customer measured through an electricity meter. Based on this measurement, customers are charged a monthly service fee and additional charges proportional to their consumption. Commercial and industrial consumers often have more intricate pricing schemes, with meters that measure energy usage at specific intervals to calculate charges based on both the amount of energy consumed and the maximum rate of consumption, known as the peak demand charge.
The electricity market has undergone significant deregulation in many countries, including the United Kingdom and various US states, allowing customers to choose from competing suppliers. This shift has transformed the role of electricity retailing from an administrative function within an integrated utility to a risk management function within a competitive market. Customers can now opt for "green" power, selecting electricity sourced from renewable energy generation, such as wind or solar power.
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Frequently asked questions
Residential, commercial, and industrial customers each account for roughly one-third of a nation's electricity use. The transportation sector also consumes electricity but accounts for a small fraction.
Electricity retailing is the final sale of electricity from generation to the end-use consumer. This is the fourth major step in the electricity delivery process, which also includes generation, transmission, and distribution.
People use electricity for lighting, heating, cooling, refrigeration, operating appliances, computers, electronics, machinery, and public transportation systems.
An electricity provider is often known as "the electric company" or "the power company". They generate, transmit, distribute, and sell electricity.
Customers are usually charged a monthly service fee and additional charges based on the electrical energy (in kWh) consumed by the household or business during the month.
