U.S. energy flow -- 1994

Abstract

Energy consumption in 1994 increased for the fourth year in a row, reaching an alltime high. It was associated with a robust economy, low inflation, and low unemployment rates. Of the populous states, California lagged substantially behind the national recovery. Consumption in all major end-use sectors reached historic highs. Transmission of electrical power by the utilities increased almost 3%. However, this understates the increase of the total amount of electricity used in the nation because the amount of electricity used "in-house" by a growing number of self-generators is unrecorded. Imports of both fossil fuels and electricity increased. About half of the total oil consumed was imported, with Saudi Arabia being the principal supplier. Domestic oil production continued to decline; however, the sharp decline in Alaskan production was slowed. The increase in the demand for natural gas was met by both a modest increase in domestic production and imports from Canada, which comprised 10% of supply. The residential/commercial sector is the largest single consumer of natural gas; however, use by electric generators has increased annually for the past decade. The regulated utilities increased their consumption 11% in 1994. The year saw hearings before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) on the potential sale of electricity by out-of-state producers directly to consumers within the state. The proposal was that direct sales to industrial and large commercial customers would begin in 1996 and to residential consumers in 2002. The hearings were watched closely by the nation's utilities because California was the first state to begin implementing the provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 1992, which called for changes in the traditional role that utilities play in electrical power production, transmission, and sales. Although a ruling from the CPUC was not forthcoming in 1994, California utilities began preparing for what they view as an inevitable change in their monopolistic, regulated industry by improving efficiencies and cutting costs to become more competitive in the future. The year was noteworthy for the U.S. nuclear power industry. Work was halted on the last nuclear power plant under construction in the country. Because of the retirement of aged and poorly performing nuclear plants and because of improved efficiencies, the capacity factor for the remaining 109 operable plants reached a record 74%.

California energy flow in 1994

“…In 1993 we revised our estimate of efficiency for the transportation sector down from 25 to 20% after a review of the subject. 2 The estimates of conversion efficiencies are given in Appendix D, and their rationales can be found in Ref. lb, 1c, and 2.…”