U.S. power use falls with recession

Samuel Dalzell
Friday, April 3, 2009
4:32 PM
Energy/Alternative Energy

U.S. electricity demand, which has seen a steady, uninterrupted climb for the past 25 years, is expected to experience a decline in 2009 as a result of the ongoing recession. Industrial demand, which makes up approximately a quarter of U.S. power consumption, has been negatively affected in particular; in January, industrial consumers bought 11.4 percent less power compared with the same time last year. Total electricity sales to industrial consumers is expected to decrease by 6.4 percent by the end of year, leading to a drop of approximately 1.7 percent in overall power consumption. This drop in industrial demand and the general downturn in industry is being blamed on damaged businesses and reduced demand for many industrially-produced commodities. The downturn in electricity consumption is expected to reverse in 2010, with projected growth of up 1.2 percent. However, demand will not be at the levels seen in 2008 until 2011. While new government mandates are requiring substantial increases in the generation and transmission needed to limit air emissions and boost renewable supplies, the financial crisis has delayed investment in energy infrastructure improvements.
While this downturn in demand certainly comes as no surprise, I think it's important to look on the brighter side of things. Yes, times are tough, and yes, businesses, industry, and consumers are losing money and the overall standard of living has decreased slightly. But there is something about this downturn in energy consumption that we can celebrate---the overall positive effect it will have on our environment as a whole. I believe that most Americans needed this wake-up call to understand that their habits of energy consumption can not continue in the same way---we need change, real, qualitative change in our habits and ideas about energy consumption. Hopefully this will be a catalyst for a change in the transmission of energy, and hopefully soon we can all be using greener energy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE52T7OE20090330?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0