ENERGY CONSUMPTION BY MAJOR FUEL

Summary

Total end-use energy consumption for the most recent three-year period (1990 to 1993) showed minimal growth (less than one percent). This followed the period from 1983 to 1990, when energy consumption increased 36 percent (annual growth rate of 4.5 percent). Growth in petroleum consumption accounted for 57 percent of this increase. Petroleum is the dominant fuel used in Washington State, accounting for 55 percent of total consumption in 1993. From 1990 to 1993, natural gas was the only major fuel for which consumption increased. Natural gas use almost doubled from 1983 to 1993, although its share of total consumption in 1993 was still below 1970 levels. Moderate growth in electricity consumption during the 1980s slowed during the last four years.

	Natural Gas End-Use Energy Consumption	Electric End-Use Energy Consumption	Petroleum End-Use Energy Consumption	Coal End-Use Energy Consumption	Total End-Use Energy Consumption	Total Primary Energy Consumption
Year	TBtu	TBtu	TBtu	TBtu	TBtu	TBtu
1970	158	163	429	6	756	862
1971	165	165	436	6	772	880
1972	180	194	453	4	830	964
1973	208	193	468	4	873	1,044
1974	191	203	447	7	848	1,026
1975	171	195	452	11	830	1,028
1976	155	209	462	15	840	1,049
1977	149	201	493	15	859	1,036
1978	133	223	519	16	892	1,095
1979	164	234	522	15	936	1,101
1980	134	238	514	11	898	1,051
1981	131	277	510	10	929	1,105
1982	114	258	498	12	882	1,040
1983	112	261	449	11	832	980
1984	132	267	514	9	922	1,094
1985	140	261	525	10	935	1,114
1986	122	258	591	9	979	1,130
1987	136	263	602	7	1,008	1,139
1988	149	290	625	8	1,072	1,179
1989	159	296	637	7	1,099	1,214
1990	167	311	646	7	1,131	1,257
1991	178	317	642	6	1,143	1,257
1992	169	305	692	5	1,171	1,268
1993	201	309	627	6	1,143	1,230
Sources: Consumption -- Energy Information Administration

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Why Select This Indicator?

The total end-use energy consumption by fuel indicator identifies the fuels the state is most reliant on and changes in the mix of fuels used. The trends show growth rates (or declines) in consumption by type of fuel and how those rates are changing.

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What Are The Trends?

It is useful to view the trends in total end-use energy consumption for three periods. The period from 1970 to 1983 includes two energy crises, high inflation, and a recession. There was a dip in consumption in 1983, followed by a period of steady growth. Beginning in 1990, consumption leveled off. Key trends include:

• In the 1970 to 1983 period there was strong growth in electricity use while natural gas consumption declined. This trend was reversed by 1990, with strong natural gas growth and a slight decline in electricity use.
• Petroleum consumption maintained a steady share of total consumption from 1970 to 1993. Total consumption closely mirrored petroleum consumption with solid growth from 1983 to 1990, leveling off through 1993.
• Coal made up a very small portion of end-use consumption. Coal is an important primary fuel source in the production of electricity. This consumption is included in primary fuel consumption (see box entitled "Where does Electricity Come From").
• Primary energy consumption trends are similar to end-use trends. Primary energy consumption measures the fuel consumed at power plants to generate electricity as well as fuels consumed by end-users (it does not include end-use electric consumption). Primary consumption is larger than end-use consumption because electric generation plants are less than 100 percent efficient (they consume more energy than they produce in electricity for end-use).

	1970 Share	1983 Share	1993 Share	1970-1983 Annual Growth	1983-1990 Annual Growth	1990-1993 Annual Growth
Natural Gas	21%	13%	18%	-2.6%	5.9%	6.2%
Electricity	22%	31%	27%	3.7%	2.5%	-0.2%
Petroleum	57%	54%	55%	0.3%	5.3%	-1.0%
Coal	1%	1%	1%	4.7%	-6.5%	-2.9%
Total	100%	100%	100%	0.7%	4.5%	0.4%
Total Primary	114%	118%	108%	1.0%	3.6%	-0.7%

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What Does It Mean?

Petroleum is the dominant fuel used in Washington State. Overall consumption trends are largely driven by trends in petroleum consumption. The transportation sector uses the majority of petroleum consumed in the state. Thus growth in travel is a key influence on overall state energy consumption.

The increased popularity of natural gas for applications such as heating and industrial use since the mid-1980s are clearly reflected in the data. The decline in the growth rate of electricity consumption may be partly due to increases in efficiency and to fuel switching, primarily to natural gas.

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About The Data

End-use energy consumption data are obtained from the Energy Information Administration (EIA). We adjusted EIA data to remove all non-energy uses of petroleum. Primary energy consumption includes the fuel consumed to produce electricity (such as coal) as well as fuel consumed by end-users. The Profile uses different conversion factors than EIA for determining the primary energy consumption attributed to hydroelectric plants (see Appendix D for more information).

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Where Does Electricity Come From? The end-use energy consumption data show how much electricity is used by consumers, but does not show the fuels used to produce the electricity. The consumption of primary energy for electricity production gives insight into the types of power plants used to generate electricity in the state. Hydroelectricity generation is the major source for electricity in Washington, although its share has dropped from 89 percent in 1970 to 56 percent in 1993. The Centralia coal-fired electricity generation plant came on-line in the early 1970s. In 1993, coal power plants accounted for 23 percent of electricity generation. Nuclear power contributed 19 percent of the state's electricity in 1993. Electricity production from natural gas and petroleum was minimal in 1993; however, electricity production from natural gas is expected to increase in the future. Note that the primary energy consumption in Washington State does not include fuel used to produce electricity outside the state for utilities that serve Washington State consumers. It does include primary energy consumed in Washington State at power plants owned by utilities that largely serve consumers outside the state. Because the electricity grid throughout the Pacific Northwest and the Western United States is interconnected, viewing electricity generation only in Washington State is a limited perspective.

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What About Wood Consumption? Wood is used for home heating and as an industrial fuel in Washington State. Data on wood consumption are not consistently collected. It is difficult to measure wood consumption because the wood supply is widely dispersed, and there is no way to document wood purchases. It is important to recognize that wood use in Washington is significant, and the Washington State Energy Office has made some estimates of wood use. However, because these estimates are of limited duration, not regularly maintained, and less accurate than the energy estimates from the EIA, they are not included in the historical end-use energy tables. The chart shows that the magnitude of wood use was 11 percent of total end-use energy consumption in the state in 1990. Approximately three quarters of wood consumption occurred in the industrial sector (this includes wood pulp). The remaining wood consumption was for residential heating.

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