The recent public discussion about energy shortages in California has been riddled with misinformation about energy use and trends in the state and the nation.

One often-repeated myth is that the state of California has experienced an extraordinary rise in electricity demand. The following graph, using statistics collected by the California Energy Commission, shows that this just isn’t so.

Graphs by Francis Rubinstein, Environmental Energy Technologies Division

All major sectors of California’s economy show modest, steady growth over the last decade. Between 1995 and 2000, the state’s electricity consumption overall, as well as its residential sector, grew 2.5 percent per year. This growth rate is not unusual for the state when compared to the historic record, and is moderate when viewed in the context of the growing population and economy.  The California commercial sector did grow at a higher rate over this same period -- 3.5 percent per year -- but this is a moderate rate that was matched and exceeded in the late 1980s.

The graphic below, based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the California Energy Commission, shows that between 1995 and 2000, California increased its electricity consumption at 2.5 percent per year, while the United States as a whole increased its consumption at 2.1 percent per year. The difference between the two is not substantial.

The next graphic below compares the growth in California and U.S. electricity consumption on a per capita basis (the top two lines), and a growth per dollar of gross domestic product (GDP).

Graphs by Francis Rubinstein, Environmental Energy Technologies Division

There are two important points to be made: first, California’s per capita, and per GDP consumption of electricity are considerably below that of the United States as a whole. California’s per capita electricity consumption stayed relatively flat through until 1998 while the United States’ grew.

The second point is that both California and the United States have become slightly more electricity-efficient in producing a unit of GDP, suggesting that energy efficiency contributes to increasing productivity as well as reducing the energy bills.

Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration and the California Energy Commission.

Additional information:

• Myth: California is an energy hog ranking low in energy efficiency
• Per capita energy consumption by state in buildings (11Kb PDF file)
• Contact Allan Chen at a_chen@lbl.gov or (510) 486-4210