Washington's Energy Indicators

12.  Commercial Sector Trends — End-Use Energy Consumption by Fuel

Source: Energy Information Administration

ELECTRICITY ACCOUNTS FOR OVER 60 PERCENT OF END-USE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE COMMERCIAL SECTOR. NATURAL GAS MAKES UP THE BULK OF THE REST. BOTH GAS AND ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION CONTINUE TO GROW AT 2 PERCENT PER YEAR.

Electricity and natural gas are the dominant fuels in Washington’s commercial sector. With escalating use of electricity-consuming equipment such as computers, printers, and photocopiers, the commercial sector has become increasingly reliant on electricity during the last two decades. Commercial sector electricity consumption has nearly quadrupled since 1970. Natural gas lost market share in the late 1970s and early 1980s, but has recovered rapidly since 1985. In contrast, petroleum consumption is less than half of early 1970s levels, declining from 30 percent of commercial energy consumption in 1970 to around 5 percent in 1995.

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