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Evidence of a decline in electricity use by U.S. households

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  • Lucas W Davis

    (UC Berkeley)

Abstract

This paper shows that U.S. households use less electricity than they did five years ago. The decrease has been experienced broadly, in virtually all U.S. states and across all seasons of the year. This pattern stands in sharp contrast to steady increases throughout previous decades and has significant implications for household budgets, energy markets, and the environment. Several factors contribute to the decrease, but the rapid emergence of LEDs and other energy-efficient lighting has played a particularly important role.

Suggested Citation

  • Lucas W Davis, 2017. "Evidence of a decline in electricity use by U.S. households," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(2), pages 1098-1105.
    • Handle: RePEc:ebl:ecbull:eb-17-00365
    as

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    File URL: http://www.accessecon.com/Pubs/EB/2017/Volume37/EB-17-V37-I2-P96.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Gregory Casey, 2024. "Energy Efficiency and Directed Technical Change: Implications for Climate Change Mitigation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 91(1), pages 192-228.
    3. Caballero, Mariah D. & Vandenbergh, Michael P. & Gilligan, Jonathan M. & Currier, Elodie O., 2024. "Incentivizing household action: Exploring the behavioral wedge in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    4. Rauschkolb, Noah & Limandibhratha, Nathalie & Modi, Vijay & Mercadal, Ignacia, 2021. "Estimating electricity distribution costs using historical data," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    5. Emily Prehoda & Joshua M. Pearce & Chelsea Schelly, 2019. "Policies to Overcome Barriers for Renewable Energy Distributed Generation: A Case Study of Utility Structure and Regulatory Regimes in Michigan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-23, February.
    6. David BENATIA, 2020. "Reaching New Lows? The Pandemic's Consequences for Electricity Markets," Working Papers 2020-12, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    7. Kahrl, Fredrich, 2021. "Why have U.S. electricity sales flattened?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Energy Demand; Energy-Efficiency; LEDs; Rebound Effect; Household Services; Electricity Use;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q4 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy
    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior

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