In this article, we list and discuss the 15 Industries with the Highest Electricity Consumption in the US. If you would like to skip our detailed discussion of the topic, you can go directly to the top 6 Industries with the Highest Electricity Consumption in the US.
First discovered in the year 1752 by Benjamin Franklin, electricity has now become an essential component of the modern-day world. It also plays a huge role in boosting economic development; so much so that the United States, the largest economy in the world today, ranks second on the list of countries that produce the most electric power.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2023, the US generated approximately 4.18 million Gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity at utility-scale electricity generation facilities. For context, utility-scale electricity generation facilities are power plants that have a total electricity generating capacity of at least one megawatt or 1,000 kilowatts (0.001 gigawatts). About 60% or 2.5 million GWh of this electricity was generated from burning fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, petroleum, and other gasses. As for the rest, 21.4% of electricity was generated through renewable energy resources, and 18.6% was generated from nuclear energy.
In addition to this, small-scale solar photovoltaic systems accounted for another 73,620 GWh of electricity generation. So, in total — combined with utility-scale electricity generation — the United States generated about 4.252 million GWh (or about 485.34 Gigawatts) of total electricity in 2023, which was an increase of about 50,000 GWh from 2022.
Given these large generation statistics, it comes as no surprise that the US is also the second-largest electricity consumer in the world. According to EIA, in 2022, the US electricity consumption in GWh stood at 4.07 million, which was 3.2% higher than in 2021. This consumption varied in distribution across three major sectors: residential, commercial, and industrial. Out of these, the sector that uses the most electricity in the US is the residential sector, consuming 38.4% or 1.51 million GWh of electricity. On the other hand, industrial sector energy consumption was only 26% or around 1.02 million GWh — the least amount of electricity consumed out of the three major sectors.
Speaking of the industrial sector, it’s interesting to note that in 2023, the IEA reported electricity consumption in the US fell by 1.6% due to factors like milder weather and a slowdown in the manufacturing sector. However, IEA forecasts the demand to grow again by 2.5% in 2024, followed by an average growth of 1% over the next couple of years by 2026.
While electricity is a clean and relatively safe source of energy, unfortunately as we mentioned above, a huge portion of electricity in the US is generated using fossil fuels, which are already depleting and harming the environment. To combat this, some key players in the energy generation industry, like NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE), Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC), and FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE:FE), have set goals to reduce their fossil fuel consumption and achieve carbon neutrality.
One of the leading renewable energy companies in the world, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE), set goals to eliminate all scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions across all its operations by 2045. To achieve such a goal without compromising on the success of the company, NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) has been investing in and developing clean energy technologies and generating electricity through only renewable carbon-emissions-free resources such as wind, solar, battery storage, nuclear, and green hydrogen.
Meanwhile, Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC) is on the path to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and reduce at least 50% of GHG emissions by 2030. In 2022, Exelon Corp (NASDAQ:EXC) helped customers save almost 24,800 GWh and avoid more than 9.5 million tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Moreover, its Green Power Connection programs successfully connected nearly 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy generation for over 200,000 utility customers.
On the other hand, FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE:FE) pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by reducing GHG emissions by 2050. However, in 2023, the company faced some challenges, particularly in its two coal plants in West Virginia – Fort Martin and Harrison, which are the main sources of the company’s scope 1 emissions. While FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE:FE) wants to reduce its GHG emission from Fort Martin and Harrison coal plants, it can’t reduce its coal generation as the West Virginia state is heavily reliant on coal generation and has energy policies to ensure sustainability in coal generation in the state.
Consequently, in 2023, FirstEnergy Corp (NYSE:FE) removed its…
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