Electric energy consumption

Electric energy is most often measured either in joules (J), or in watt hours (W·h) representing a constant power over a period of time.

1 W·s = 1 J

1 W·h = 3600 W·s = 3600 J

Electric and electronic devices consume electric energy to generate desired output (i.e., light, heat, motion, etc.). During operation, some part of the energy—depending on the electrical efficiency—is consumed in unintended output, such as waste heat.

Electricity has been generated in power stations since 1882.[2] The invention of the steam turbine in 1883 to drive the electric generator started a strong increase of world electricity consumption.

In 2008, the world total of electricity production was 20.279 petawatt-hours (PWh). This number corresponds to an average power of 2.31 TW continuously during the year. The total primary energy used in a thermal power station to produce this power is roughly a factor 2 to 3 higher because the efficiency of electricity generation is roughly 30–50% (see also energy conversion efficiency). The primary energy consumption to generate electric power is thus in the order of 5 TW. This is approximately a third of the total energy consumption of 15 TW (see world energy consumption).

In 2005, the primary energy used to generate electricity was 12,190 terawatt-hours (41.60 quad). This was compounded of Coal 6,160 TWh (21.01 quad), Natural (fossil) gas 1,960 TWh (6.69 quad), Petroleum 390 TWh (1.32 quad), Nuclear electric power 2,380 TWh (8.13 quad), Renewable energy 1,240 TWh (4.23 quad) respectively. The gross generation of electricity in that year was 4,250 TWh (14.50 quad); the difference of 7,940 TWh (27.10 quad) was conversion losses. Among all electricity, 1,420 TWh (4.84 quad) was used in residential area, 1,270 TWh (4.32 quad) used in commercial, 1,020 TWh (3.47 quad) used in industrial and 8.8 TWh (0.03 quad) used in transportation.

1 Quad = 1 Quadrillion BTU = 1 x 10¹⁵ BTU = 293 TWh

During the year 16,816 TWh (83%) of electric energy was consumed by final users. The difference of 3,464 TWh (17%) was consumed in the process of generating power and lost in transmission to end users.

A sensitivity analysis on an adaptive neuro-fuzzy network model for electric demand estimation shows that employment is the most critical factor influencing electrical consumption.[3] The study used six parameters as input data, employment, GDP, dwelling, population, heating degree day and cooling degree day, with electricity demand as output variable.

World electricity consumption down in 2009

Electricity Consumption in 2009. Source: Enerdata Statistical Energy Review

At the world level, energy consumption was cut down by 1.5% during 2009, for the first time since World War II.[4] Except in Asia and Middle East, consumptions were reduced in all the world regions. In OECD countries, accounting for 53% of the total, electricity demand scaled down by more than 4.5% in both Europe and North America while it shrank by above 7% in Japan. Electricity demand also dropped by more than 4.5% in CIS countries, driven by a large cut in Russian consumption. Conversely, in China and India (22% of the world's consumption), electricity consumption continued to rise at a strong pace (+6-7%) to meet energy demand related to high economic growth. In Middle East, growth rate was softened but remained high, just below 4%.

The table lists the top 37 electricity consuming countries, which use 19,000 TWh/a. i.e. 90% of the consumption of all more than 190 countries. The total consumption (including the amount consumed by the power plants) and the energy sources to generate this electricity is given per country. The data is from 2012.[5][6]

Rank	Country	Total (TWh)	Fossil	Nuclear	Renewable	Population (millions)	per capita (MWh)
—	WORLD	20,900 (20.9 PWh)	68%	11%	21%	7,040	2.97
1	China	4,830 (4.83 PWh)	78%	2%	20%	1,356	3.56
2	United States	4,070 (4 PWh)	66%	19%	13%	314	12.96
3	Japan	989	85%	1% [7]	12%	128	7.73
4	Russia	948	63%	16%	21%	144	6.58
5	India	940	81%	3%	16%	1,237	0.760
6	Canada	543	24%	15%	59%	34.9	15.56
7	Mexico	246	75%	2%	23%	117	2.10
8	Brazil	498	17%	1%	82%	199	2.50
9	Argentina	124	54%	4%	41%	41.1	3.02
10	Venezuela	102	35%	0	65%	30.0	3.40
11	Germany	585	57%	15%	25%	81.9	7.14
12	France	482	9%	75%	16%	65.4	7.37
13	United Kingdom	347	67%	19%	12%	63.7	5.45
14	Italy	321	68%	0	32%	60.9	5.27
15	Spain	261	48%	21%	31%	46.2	5.65
16	Ukraine	166	45%	47%	8%	45.6	3.64
17	Poland	148	89%	0	10%	38.5	3.84
18	Sweden	136	2%	38%	60%	9.5	14.3
19	Norway	119	2%	0	98%	5.0	23.8
20	Netherlands	115	81%	4%	14%	16.8	6.85
21	Belgium	88.9	35%	48%	14%	11.1	8.01
22	Finland	84.9	26%	33%	41%	5.4	15.7
23	Turkey	207	73%	0	27%	74.9	2.76
24	United Arab Emirates	93.7	100%	0	0	9.2	10.18
25	South Korea	517	70%	28%	2%	50	10.3
26	Taiwan	241	79%	16%	5%	23.4	10.3
27	Iran	186	94%	1%	5%	80.8	2.30
28	Indonesia	181	89%	0	11%	247	0.733
29	Thailand	169	95%	0	5%	67.7	2.50
30	Malaysia	126	84%	0	16%	29.2	4.32
31	Vietnam	104	60%	0	40%	93.4	1.11
32	Kazakhstan	85.4	88%	0	12%	16.8	5.08
33	Pakistan	80.1	64%	6%	29%	179	0.447
34	Australia	236	89%	0	9%	23.1	10.2
35	South Africa	240	83%	5%	12%	52.3	4.59
36	Egypt	146	88%	0	12%	80.7	1.81
-	Iceland	0.018	0	0	100%	0.35	55

Listed countries are top 20 populous countries and/or top 20 GDP (PPP) countries and Saudi Arabia as of CIA World Factbook 2009.
30 countries (exclude EU/IEA) in this table represent 77% of world population, 84% of world GDP, 83% of world electricity generation.
Productivity per Electricity generation (concept similar to Energy intensity) can be measured by dividing GDP amount by the electricity generated. World average was $3.5 production/kWh.
Electricity generation include Final consumption, in process consumption, and losses.

Electricity Generation (2008) and GDP (PPP) (2009)

Country	Population million	rank*	GDP (PPP) billion USD	rank*	GDP (PPP) per capita	rank*	Electricity generation (GWh/yr)	rank**	daily kWh per capita	rank**	GDP (PPP) /kWh*
China	1,339	1	$7,992	2	$5,969	133	3,444,108	2	7.04	17	$2.3
India	1,166	2	$3,304	4	$2,834	166	860,723	5	2.02	23	$3.8
USA	307	3	$14,440	1	$47,036	11	4,401,698	1	39.25	2	$3.3
EU*	541	—	$16,221	—	$29,983	—	3,635,604	—	18.40	—	$4.5
Indonesia	240	4	$917	15	$3,821	158	149,437	20	1.70	24	$6.1
Brazil	199	5	$1,998	9	$10,040	102	505,083	9	6.95	18	$4.0
Pakistan	176	6	$431	27	$2,449	172	91,626	24	1.43	26	$4.7
Bangladesh	156	7	$226	49	$1,449	196	35,893	27	0.63	27	$6.3
Nigeria	149	8	$336	35	$2,255	176	21,110	28	0.39	28	$15.9
Russia	140	9	$2,271	6	$16,221	72	1,022,726	4	20.00	10	$2.2
Japan	127	10	$4,340	3	$34,173	36	1,083,142	3	23.35	6	$4.0
Mexico	111	11	$1,567	11	$14,117	77	257,812	14	6.36	19	$6.1
Philippines	98	12	$318	37	$3,425	162	60,819	26	1.70	25	$5.2
Vietnam	87	13	$242	45	$2,782	167	76,269	25	2.40	22	$3.2
Ethiopia	85	14	$70	78	$824	216	3,777	30	0.12	30	$18.5
Egypt	83	15	$445	26	$5,361	135	130,144	22	4.29	21	$3.4
Germany	82	16	$2,925	5	$35,671	33	617,132	7	20.61	8	$4.7
Turkey	77	17	$904	16	$11,740	92	198,085	19	7.04	16	$4.6
DR Congo	69	18	$21	120	$304	226	6,939	29	0.28	29	$3.0
Iran	75	19	$844	17	$12,788	86	211,972	17	8.79	15	$4.0
Thailand	66	20	$549	24	$8,318	115	149,034	21	6.18	20	$3.7
France	64	21	$2,133	8	$33,328	38	526,862	8	22.54	7	$4.0
UK	61	22	$2,236	7	$36,656	30	400,390	11	17.97	13	$5.6
Italy	58	23	$1,827	10	$31,500	41	359,161	12	16.95	14	$5.1
South Korea	49	25	$1,338	13	$27,306	49	443,888	10	24.80	5	$3.0
Spain	41	32	$1,402	12	$34,195	35	303,179	13	20.25	9	$4.6
Canada	33	37	$1,303	14	$39,485	22	620,684	6	51.50	1	$2.1
Saudi Arabia	29	41	$578	22	$19,931	59	204,200	18	19.28	12	$2.8
Taiwan	23	49	$714	19	$31,043	42	238,458	16	28.39	4	$3.0
Australia	21	54	$803	18	$38,238	25	257,247	15	33.54	3	$3.1
Netherlands	17	59	$674	20	$39,647	20	123,496	23	19.89	11	$5.66
World	6,784	—	$70,048	—	$10,325	—	20,279,640	—	8.18	—	$3.5
Population and GDP data are from CIA World Factbook 2009 Electricity data are from IEA/OECD 2008[10] (retrieved on April 2011) rank* of Population and GDP are World ranking rank** of Electricity consumption are ranking within this list GDP PP/kWh Amount of GDP (PPP) (USD) produced per every kilowatt-hour EU* only considers EU states which are member of the IEA (Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) but also includes non-EU members of the IEA (Norway, Switzerland and Turkey).

About 17% of total electricity production is consumed by in-processes, such as self-consumption of power plants, grid losses and storage losses. In 2008, total electricity generation accounted for 20,261 TWh (20.26 PWh), while 3,464 TWh (3.46 PWh) were self-consumption and losses and 16,816 TWh (16.82 PWh) went to final consumption.[10]

In the consumption rate in Industry, China is highest with 67.8%, South Korea is 51.0% (7th), Germany 46.1% (11th), Japan 31.5% (26th), USA 24.0% (28th) In the Commercial and Public Service, Japan is highest with 36.4%, USA 35.6% (3rd), China 5.4% (29th). For Domestic usage, Saudi Arabia is highest with 56.9%, USA 36.2% (8th), Japan 29.8% (16th), China 15.5% (29th), Korea 13.8% (30th).

Definition

• Industry: iron and steel, chemical and petrochemical, non-ferrous metals, non-metallic minerals, transport equipment, machinery, mining, Food and tobacco, Paper, pulp and print, wood and wood product, construction, textile and leather, non-specified.
• Transport: domestic aviation, Land transportation, Rail, Pipeline transport, domestic navigation, non-specified. note international marine and aviation bunkers are not included.
• Fishery: some country include fishing with agriculture or forestry.

Electricity Consumption 2008 (TWh)

Country/ Geographical Region	Total (TWh)	Industry	Transport	Commercial /Public Services	Agriculture /Forestry	Fishery	Residential	other
China	2,842	67.8%	1.05%	5.4%	3.12%	0.000%	15.5%	7.19%
India	602	46.4%	1.93%	8.0%	17.92%	0.000%	20.7%	5.05%
USA	3,814	24.0%	0.20%	35.0%	0.00%	0.000%	36.2%	4.59%
Indonesia	129	37.2%	0.00%	23.9%	0.00%	0.000%	38.9%	0.00%
Brazil	410	48.1%	0.39%	23.7%	4.49%	0.000%	23.3%	0.00%
Pakistan	70	27.5%	0.01%	14.2%	12.50%	0.000%	45.9%	0.00%
Bangladesh	32	56.3%	0.00%	6.0%	3.37%	0.000%	32.9%	0.00%
Nigeria	19	20.0%	0.00%	24.7%	0.00%	0.000%	55.3%	0.00%
Russia	725	49.6%	11.45%	20.6%	2.14%	0.037%	16.1%	0.00%
Japan	964	31.5%	1.95%	36.4%	0.09%	0.000%	29.8%	0.23%
Mexico	200	61.3%	0.55%	10.3%	4.05%	0.000%	23.7%	0.00%
Philippines	49	34.6%	0.23%	28.7%	2.30%	0.311%	33.8%	0.00%
Vietnam	68	51.8%	0.75%	8.1%	0.97%	0.000%	38.4%	0.00%
Ethiopia	3.1	38.0%	0.00%	23.6%	0.00%	0.000%	37.7%	0.74%
Egypt	112	33.4%	0.00%	15.4%	4.13%	0.000%	39.2%	7.84%
Germany	526	46.1%	3.14%	22.6%	1.66%	0.000%	26.5%	0.00%
Turkey	159	45.4%	0.60%	25.6%	3.54%	0.102%	24.8%	0.00%
DR Congo	6.1	63.4%	0.00%	3.1%	0.00%	0.000%	33.5%	0.00%
Iran	164	33.2%	0.15%	19.0%	12.92%	0.001%	32.3%	2.50%
Thailand	135	42.4%	0.04%	35.6%	0.21%	0.000%	21.3%	0.54%
France	433	32.6%	3.06%	25.0%	0.88%	0.028%	35.9%	2.57%
UK	342	33.2%	2.47%	28.6%	1.19%	0.000%	34.5%	0.00%
Italy	309	45.8%	3.50%	26.8%	1.81%	0.022%	22.1%	0.00%
South Korea	407	51.0%	0.55%	32.5%	1.61%	0.449%	13.8%	0.00%
Spain	265	38.9%	1.10%	29.5%	2.29%	0.000%	27.1%	1.08%
Canada	519	36.3%	0.81%	30.0%	1.86%	0.000%	31.0%	0.00%
Saudi Arabia	170	12.4%	0.00%	28.5%	2.04%	0.000%	56.9%	0.14%
Taiwan	210	55.7%	0.52%	13.7%	0.78%	0.459%	20.3%	8.48%
Australia	212	44.7%	1.33%	25.6%	0.88%	0.000%	27.4%	0.00%
Netherlands	109	38.6%	1.48%	30.0%	7.15%	0.000%	22.7%	0.00%
World	16,816	41.7%	1.60%	23.4%	2.50%	0.025%	27.4%	3.43%
Notes: For more recent data World Electricity production 2012 [11] Listed are top 20 countries, either by population or by GDP (PPP), as well as Saudi Arabia.

Electric energy consumption per inhabitant by primary energy source in some countries and areas in 2008 is in the table.

1 MW·h/yr = 114 watt

For the OECD with 8 991 kWh/yr/person: 1.026 watt/person.

In a recent report[13], the IEA reported a total worlds electric energy consumption in 2017 of 21,372 TWh, which is an increase of 2.6% in comparison to 2016. The electric energy consumption of the OECD countries in 2017 was 9,518 TWh and thus about 0.2% higher than in 2016. This compares to a power production in the OECD countries of 11,051 TWh in 2017, and to 11,173 TWh in 2018. The electric power consumption of the non-OECD countries in 2017 amounts to 11,854 TWh. An increase of 4.6% over the year 2016. The share of the gross electric production by source is summarized in the following table for the available assessment in the years 2017 or 2018.

In all scenarios, increasing efficiency will result in less electricity needed for a given demand of power and light. But demand will increase strongly on account of

• growing economy in developing countries and
• electrification of transport and heating. Combustion engines are replaced by electric drive and for heating less gas and oil, but more electricity is used, if possible with heat pumps.

As transport and heating become more climate-friendly, the environmental effect of energy consumption will be more determined by electricity. This is mainly supplied by burning fossil fuel which disturbs the natural carbon cycle. The scenarios arrive at very different results for the environment.

The International Energy Agency expects revision of subsidy for fossil fuel which amounted to 550 billion dollar in 2013, more than four times renewable energy subsidy. In this scenario[14] almost half of the increase in 2040 of electricity consumption is covered by more than 80% growth of renewable energy. Many new nuclear plants will be constructed, mainly to replace old ones. The nuclear part of electricity generation will increase from 11 to 12%. The renewable part goes up much, from 21 to 33%. The IEA warns that in order to restrict global warming to 2 °C, the carbon dioxide emission[15] must not exceed 1000 gigaton (Gt) from 2014. This limit is reached in 2040 and emissions will not drop to zero ever.

The World Energy Council[16] sees world electricity consumption increasing to more than 40,000 TWh/a in 2040. The fossil part of generation depends on energy policy. It can stay around 70% in the so-called Jazz scenario where countries rather independently "improvise" but it can also decrease to around 40% in the Symphony scenario if countries work "orchestrated" for more climate friendly policy. Carbon dioxide emission, 32 Gt/a in 2012, will increase to 46 Gt/a in Jazz but decrease to 26 Gt/a in Symphony. Accordingly, until 2040 the renewable part of generation will stay at about 20% in Jazz but increase to about 45% in Symphony.

• World Electricity production 2012
• World Map and Chart of Energy Consumption by country by Lebanese-economy-forum, World Bank data
• Electricity Information 2019 - IEA