Order Code RL31849
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Energy: Useful Facts and Numbers
Updated January 10, 2006
Carol Glover
Technical Information Specialist
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Carl E. Behrens
Specialist in Energy Policy
Resources, Science, and Industry Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

Energy: Useful Facts and Numbers
Summary
Energy supplies and prices are a major economic factor in the United States, and
energy markets are volatile and unpredictable. For both these reasons, energy policy
is of frequent interest to the Congress. This report presents a statistical view of the
supply and consumption of various forms of energy.
After an introductory overview of aggregate energy consumption, the report
presents detailed analysis of trends and statistics regarding specific energy sources:
oil, electricity, natural gas, and coal. A section on trends in energy efficiency is also
presented.
This report depends largely on data released annually by the Energy Information
Administration (EIA) and will be updated as new data become available.


Contacts
Area of Expertise
Name
Telephone
Introduction and General
Carl Behrens
7-8303
Oil
Larry Kumins
7-7250
Robert Pirog
7-6847
Energy Taxes
Salvatore Lazzari
7-7825
Electricity
Amy Abel
7-7239
Other Conventional Energy Sources
Natural Gas
Larry Kumins
7-7250
Robert Pirog
7-6847
Coal
Marc Humphries
7-7264
Nuclear Energy
Mark Holt
7-1704
Conservation and Energy Efficiency
Solar and Renewable Energy
Fred Sissine
7-7039
Larry Parker
7-7238
Brent Yacobucci
7-9662
CAFE Standards (vehicle fuel economy)
Rob Bamberger
7-7240
Statistics, Tables & Figures
Carol Glover
7-7353

Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Petroleum Consumption, Supply and Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Petroleum and Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Petroleum Prices: Historical Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Gasoline Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Other Conventional Energy Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Natural Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Coal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Conservation and Energy Efficiency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Vehicle Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Energy Consumption and GDP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Major Statistical Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Links to Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Energy Information Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Other Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
List of Figures
Figure 1. Per Capita Energy Consumption in Transportation and Residential
Sectors, 1949-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Figure 2 . Electricity Use: Commercial, Residential, and Industrial Sectors,
1949-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Figure 3. Energy Consumption, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Figure 4. World Crude Oil Reserves, 1973, 1991 and 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Figure 5. U.S. Dependence on Imported Petroleum, 1960-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Figure 6. Transportation Use of Petroleum, 1950 - 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 7. Crude Oil Prices,* 1968 - 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 8. Price per Gallon of Motor Gasoline, 1950 - 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 9. Consumer Spending on Oil as Percentage of GDP, 1970-2000 . . . . . . 13
Figure 10. Electricity Generation by Source, selected years 1950 - 2004 . . . . . . 14
Figure 11. Capacity Additions, 1990-1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 12. Price of Retail Residential Electricity, 1960-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 13. Natural Gas Prices to Electric Utilities, 1978-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 14. Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Rates, 1973 - 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 15. Oil and Natural Gas Consumption per Dollar of GDP, 1973-2004 . . 22
Figure 16. Change in Oil and Natural Gas Consumption and Growth
in GDP, 1973-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

List of Tables
Table 1. U.S. Energy Consumption, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Table 2. Energy Consumption in Quads and Percent of Total, 1950-2004 . . . . . . 5
Table 3. Petroleum Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Table 4. U.S. Petroleum Production, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Table 5. Transportation Use of Petroleum, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Table 6. Electricity Generation by Region and Fuel, 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Table 7. Natural Gas Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Table 8. Coal Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Energy: Useful Facts and Numbers
Introduction
Tracking changes in energy activity is complicated by variations in different
energy markets, most of which operate independently. Since aggregate indicators of
total energy production and consumption do not adequately reflect these
complexities, this compendium focuses on the details of individual activities.
Primary among these are oil, particularly gasoline for transportation, and electricity
generation and consumption. Natural gas is also an important energy source, for
home heating as well as in industry and electricity generation. Coal is used almost
entirely for electricity generation, nuclear and hydropower completely so.
Solar power and other renewable sources (except hydropower) continue to offer
more potential than actual energy production. Conservation and energy efficiency
have shown significant gains over the past three decades, however, and offer
encouraging potential to relieve some of the dependence on imports that has caused
economic difficulties in the past as well as the present.
To give a general view of energy consumption trends, Table 1 shows
consumption by economic sector — residential, commercial, transportation, and
industry — from 1950 to the present. To supplement this overview, some of the
trends are highlighted by graphs in Figures 1 and 2.
In viewing these figures, a note on units of energy may be helpful. Each source
has its own unit of energy. Oil, for instance, is measured in million barrels per day
(mbd), coal in million tons per year, natural gas in trillion cubic feet (TCF) per year.
To aggregate various types of energy in a single table, a common measure, British
Thermal Unit (Btu) is often used. In Table 1, energy consumption by sector is given
in units of quadrillion Btus per year, or “quads,” while per capita consumption is
given in million Btus (MBtu) per year. One quad corresponds to one TCF of natural
gas, or approximately 50 million tons of coal. One million barrels per day of oil is
approximately 2 quads per year. Approximately 3,600 kilowatt-hours (kwh) of
electricity is equivalent to one MBtu.
From Table 1 it can be seen that total U.S. energy consumption almost tripled
in the half-century from 1950 to 2000, with the industrial sector, the heaviest energy
user, growing at the slowest rate. When population increase is accounted for, the
growth in energy consumption during the period was about 50%. As Figure 1
illustrates, much of the growth in per capita energy consumption took place before
1970.
Table 1 does not include consumption of energy by the electricity sector,
because it is both a producer and a consumer of energy. For the residential,
commercial, industrial and transportation sectors, the consumption figures given are

CRS-2
the sum of the resources such as oil and gas that are directly consumed, plus the total
energy used to produce the electricity each sector consumed. As Figure 2
demonstrates, a major trend during the 50-year period was the electrification of the
residential and commercial sectors, and also of industry to a lesser extent. By the
beginning of the new century, electricity represented 65% of residential energy
consumption, 75% of commercial energy consumption, and about a third of industrial
energy consumption.
Table 1. U.S. Energy Consumption, 1950-2004
Energy Consumption by Sector
Population
Consumption Per
(Quads)
(million)
Capita (MBtu)
Resid. Comm. Indus. Trans. Total
Resid. Trans. Total
1950
6.0
3.9
16.2
8.5
34.6
152.3
39.4
55.8
227.3
1955
7.3
3.9
19.5
9.6
40.2
165.9
44.0
57.6
242.3
1960
9.1
4.6
20.8
10.6
45.1
180.7
50.2
58.7
249.6
1965
10.7
5.8
25.1
12.4
54.0
194.3
55.0
64.0
278.0
1970
13.8
8.3
29.6
16.1
67.9
205.1
67.3
78.5
330.9
1975
14.8
9.5
29.5
18.2
72.0
216.0
68.7
84.5
333.4
1980
15.8
10.6
32.2
19.7
78.3
227.2
69.7
86.7
344.5
1985
16.0
11.5
29.0
20.1
76.5
237.9
67.3
84.4
321.4
1990
17.1
13.3
31.9
22.4
84.7
249.5
68.4
89.9
339.5
1995
18.7
14.7
34.0
23.8
91.3
262.8
71.1
90.7
347.2
2000
20.5
17.2
34.7
26.6
99.0
282.2
72.8
94.1
350.7
2001
20.3
17.4
32.5
26.3
96.5
285.1
71.2
92.2
338.4
2002
20.9
17.6
32.5
26.9
97.9
288.0
72.6
93.2
339.9
2003
21.2
17.5
32.6
27.1
98.3
290.8
72.9
93.2
338.1
2004
21.2
17.5
33.3
27.8
99.7
293.7
72.1
94.6
339.6
Source: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 2.1a.
Population data from the Census Bureau. Per capita data calculated by CRS.

CRS-3
Figure 1. Per Capita Energy Consumption in
Transportation and Residential Sectors, 1949-2004
100
90
Transportation
80
Residential
70
60
50
40
30
1949
1959
1969
1979
1989
1999
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 2.1a. Population data from
the Census Bureau. Per capita data calculated by CRS.

CRS-4
Figure 2 . Electricity Use: Commercial, Residential, and Industrial
Sectors, 1949-2004
(As Percent of Total Sector Energy Use)
100
80
Commercial
60
Residential
40
Industrial
20
0
1949
1954
1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
1999
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 2.1. Percentages calculated by CRS.
Consumption of major energy resources — petroleum, natural gas, and coal —
is presented in Table 2, and shown graphically in Figure 3. The historical trends
show that petroleum has been and continues to be the major source of energy, rising
from about 38% in 1950 to 45% in 1975, then declining to about 40% in response to
the energy crisis of the 1970s. Natural gas followed a similar pattern at a lower level,
increasing its share of total energy from about 17% in 1950 to over 30% in 1970,
then declining to about 20%. Coal, still a major energy source in 1950 at 35%,
declined to about 20% a decade later and has remained at about that level since then.

CRS-5
Table 2. Energy Consumption in Quads and Percent of Total,
1950-2004
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Coal
Other
Total
Quads
%
Quads
%
Quads
%
Quads
%
1950
13.3
38.4
6.0
17.3
12.3
35.5
3.0
8.7
34.6
1955
17.3
43.0
9.0
22.4
11.2
27.9
2.7
6.7
40.2
1960
19.9
44.1
12.4
27.5
9.8
21.7
3.0
6.7
45.1
1965
23.3
43.1
15.8
29.3
11.6
21.5
3.3
6.1
54.0
1970
29.5
43.4
21.8
32.1
12.3
18.1
4.3
6.3
67.9
1975
32.7
45.4
20.0
27.8
12.7
17.6
6.6
9.2
72.0
1980
34.2
43.7
20.4
26.1
15.4
19.7
8.3
10.6
78.3
1985
30.9
40.4
17.8
23.3
17.5
22.9
10.3
13.5
76.5
1990
33.6
39.7
19.7
23.3
19.2
22.7
12.2
14.4
84.7
1995
34.6
37.9
22.8
25.0
20.1
22.0
13.7
15.0
91.2
2000
38.4
38.8
23.9
24.2
22.6
22.9
13.9
14.1
99.0
2004
40.1
39.8
23.0
22.9
22.4
23.1
13.9
14.2
99.7
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 1.3. Percentages calculated by CRS.
Figure 3. Energy Consumption, 1950-2004
120
100
80
Other
60
Petroleum
40
Natural Gas
20
Coal
0
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 1.3.












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CRS-6
Oil
Almost 40% of the energy consumed in the United States is supplied by
petroleum, and that proportion has remained approximately the same since 1950, as
the data in the previous section show. Also unchanged is the almost total dependence
of the transportation sector on petroleum, mostly gasoline.
The perception that the world is on the verge of running out of oil, widespread
during the 1970s, has changed, however. The rapid price increases at that time, aided
by improved exploration and production technology, stimulated a global search for
oil and resulted in the discovery of large amounts of new reserves. Indeed, as
concerns about tightening supply and continually increasing prices were at a peak,
proven reserves actually increased by about 50% between 1973 and 1990. Some of
the increase was in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in Mexico, but most was located
in the region that already dominated the world oil market, the Middle East. With
prices essentially steady during the 1990s, the search for oil slowed, but additions to
reserves during the decade exceeded the amount of oil pumped out of the ground.
By 2003 improved technology for retrieving petroleum from oil sands in Canada, and
to a lesser extent heavy oil in Venezuela, led to the addition to proven world reserves
of approximately 200 billion barrels, or 20% of the total 1991 figure. These trends
are illustrated in Figure 4.
Figure 4. World Crude Oil Reserves, 1973, 1991 and 2005
1400
Far East & Oceania
1200
Africa
Middle East
Far East & Oceania
1000
Africa
Middle East
800
Far East & Oceania
600
Africa
Middle East
Eastern Europe &
400
Former Soviet Union
Western
Eastern Europe &
Europe
200
Eastern Europe &
Former Soviet Union
Former Soviet Union
Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
0
1973
1991
2005
Source: EIA, International Energy Annual, 1990 & 2004, Table 8.1 (figures
from Oil and Gas Journal).

CRS-7
Table 3. Petroleum Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004
(million barrels per day and percent of total)
Residential-
Trans-
Commercial
Industrial
Electric
portation
Total
MBD
%
MBD
%
MBD
%
MBD
%
MBD
1950
1.1
17.2
1.8
28.1 0.2
3.1
3.4
53.1
6.4
1955
1.4
15.3
2.4
28.2
0.2
2.4
4.5
52.9
8.5
1960
1.7
17.3
2.7
27.6
0.2
2.0
5.1
52.0
9.8
1965
2.0
16.5
3.2
27.8
0.3
2.6
6.0
52.2
11.5
1970
2.1
15.0
3.8
25.9
0.9
6.1
7.8
53.1
14.7
1975
1.9
11.7
4.0
24.5
1.3
8.6
9.0
55.2
16.3
1980
1.5
8.8
4.8
28.1
1.1
7.0
9.5
55.6
17.1
1985
1.3
8.3
4.1
26.1
0.4
3.2
9.8
63.1
15.7
1990
1.3
6.5
4.3
25.3
0.5
3.5
10.9
64.7
17.0
1995
1.2
6.2
4.6
26.0
0.3
1.7
11.7
66.1
17.7
2000
1.3
6.1
4.9
24.9
0.5
2.5
13.0
66.5
19.7
2004
1.3
6.5
5.1
25.0
0.5
2.5
13.6
66.0
20.0
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Tables 5.13a-d.
Petroleum Consumption, Supply and Imports
Consumption of petroleum by sector reflects a variety of trends. In the
residential and commercial sectors petroleum consumption grew steadily from 1950
to 1970, while accounting for about 15% of total petroleum consumption. After the
price surge in the 1970s, consumption in those sectors declined, falling to less than
7% of total petroleum consumption. Usage in the electric power sector followed a
similar but more abrupt pattern. Until 1970 only about 3% of petroleum went to
power generation. In the late 1960s efforts to improve air quality by reducing
emissions led utilities to convert a number of coal-fired powerplants to burn oil, and
many new plants were designed to burn oil or natural gas. Utilities found themselves
committed to increasing dependence on oil just at the time of shortages and high
prices; in 1975 almost 9% of oil consumption went for power production.
Consumption then fell sharply as alternate sources became available, declining to
about 2%-3% of total consumption.
Industrial consumption of petroleum, which includes such large consumers as
refineries and petrochemical industries, has remained about 25% of total
consumption throughout the last half-century. As other sectors’ share fell,
transportation, which was a little more than half of total consumption prior to 1975,
climbed to almost two-thirds by 2000.

CRS-8
Table 4. U.S. Petroleum Production, 1950-2004
(million barrels per day)
Crude Oil
Gas Liquids
Other*
Total
48 States
Alaska
Total
1950
5.4

5.4
0.5

5.9
1955
6.8

6.8
0.8

7.6
1960
7.0

7.0
0.9
0.2
8.1
1965
7.8

7.8
1.2
0.2
9.2
1970
9.4
0.2
9.6
1.7
0.4
11.7
1975
8.2
0.2
8.4
1.6
0.5
10.5
1980
7.0
1.6
8.6
1.6
0.6
10.8
1985
7.2
1.8
9.0
1.6
0.6
11.1
1990
5.6
1.8
7.4
1.6
0.7
9.6
1995
5.1
1.5
6.6
1.8
0.8
9.1
2000
4.9
1.0
5.8
1.9
1.0
8.7
2004
4.5
0.9
5.4
1.8
1.0
8.3
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 5.1.
* Includes processing gain
While petroleum consumption increased throughout the last half century (except
for a temporary decline following the price surge of the 1970s), U.S. domestic
production peaked in 1970 (see Table 4). The result, as shown in Figure 5, was
greater dependence on imported petroleum, which rose from less than 20% in 1960
to more than 50% in 2003.

CRS-9
Figure 5. U.S. Dependence on Imported Petroleum, 1960-2003
100
80
60
40
20
0
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review, October 2004, Table 1.7, and Annual
Energy Review 1986
, Table 51.
Table 5. Transportation Use of Petroleum, 1950-2004
(million barrels per day)
Motor
Year
Aviation
Diesel Fuel
Gasoline
Other
Total
1950
0.1
0.2
2.4
0.6
3.4
1955
0.3
0.4
3.2
0.5
4.5
1960
0.5
0.4
3.7
0.4
5.1
1965
0.7
0.5
4.4
0.4
6.0
1970
1.0
0.7
5.6
0.4
7.8
1975
1.0
1.0
6.5
0.4
9.0
1980
1.1
1.3
6.4
0.7
9.5
1985
1.2
1.5
6.7
0.4
9.8
1990
1.5
1.7
7.1
0.5
10.9
1995
1.5
2.0
7.7
0.5
11.7
2000
1.7
2.4
8.4
0.5
13.0
2004
1.6
2.8
8.9
0.3
13.6
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 5.12c.
Petroleum and Transportation
Since the transportation sector is so heavily dependent on petroleum, and uses
so much of it, Table 5 presents a more detailed breakdown of the various types of
petroleum used.

CRS-10
Aviation fuel includes both aviation gasoline and kerosene jet fuel. In 1950
aviation was almost entirely gasoline powered; by 2000 it was 99% jet fueled. The
growth in flying is illustrated by the fact that aviation fuel was only 3% of petroleum
consumption for transportation in 1950, but had grown to 12% in 1965 and has
maintained that share since then.
Diesel fuel consumption showed a similar dramatic increase. About 6% of total
petroleum consumption for transportation in 1950, it rose to 11% by 1975 and to
20% by 2003. Diesel fuel is used by a number of transportation sectors. Part of the
increase involved the change of railroads from coal-fired steam to diesel and diesel-
electric power. Diesel fuel is used also in the marine transportation sector, and some
private automobiles are diesel-powered. The major part of diesel fuel consumption
in transportation is by large commercial trucks. Total diesel fuel consumption
increased from about 200,000 barrels per day in 1950 to 2.6 million barrels per day
in 2003.
Most of the petroleum consumed in the transportation sector is motor gasoline.
In 1950 it was 71% of total sector consumption, and by 2003, despite the increase in
aviation fuel and diesel, it was 67%. In that half century, gasoline consumption
increased by a factor of 3.5. Most motor gasoline is consumed by private vehicles,
although commercial small trucks and some large ones are significant users.
Of the other petroleum products consumed in the transportation sector, the
largest is residual fuel oil, most of which is used in large marine transport.
Consumption of residual fuel oil in the transportation sector was about 500,000
barrels in 1950, and declined gradually to about 400,000 in 2000.
Figure 6. Transportation Use of Petroleum, 1950 - 2004
14
12
10
8
6
4
Motor Gasoline
Diesel Fuel
2
Other
Aviation Fuel
0
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 5.12c.

CRS-11
Petroleum Prices: Historical Trends
Most commodity prices are typically volatile. Because oil is widely consumed,
and is so important at all levels of the economy, its price is closely watched and
analyzed. Especially since the 1970s, when a generally stable market dominated by
a few large oil companies was broken by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) cartel and a relatively open world market came into being, the
price of crude oil has been particularly volatile, as illustrated in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Crude Oil Prices,* 1968 - 2004
60
50
40
Real (2000 Dollars)
30
20
Nominal
10
0
1968
1973
1978
1983
1988
1993
1998
2003
* composite crude oil refiner acquisition cost
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 5.21.

CRS-12
Figure 8. Price per Gallon of Motor Gasoline, 1950 - 2004
250
200
Real (2000 Dollars)
150
100
Nominal
50
0
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 5.24.
At the consumer level, prices of products such as motor gasoline and heating oil
have reacted to price and supply disruptions in ways that have been modulated by
various government and industry policies and international events. A significant and
not often noted fact is that, like many commodities, the long-term trend in gasoline
prices, adjusted for inflation and excluding temporary surges, has been down. As
shown in Figure 8, the real price of gasoline peaked in 1980, then fell precipitously
in the mid-1980s. The surge in prices in the summer of 2004 (not shown in the
graph) brought the price close to the peak of 1980. (For more current data on
gasoline price trends, see CRS Issue Brief IB10134, Gasoline Prices: Policies and
Proposals,
by Carl Behrens.)

CRS-13
Figure 9. Consumer Spending on Oil as Percentage of GDP,
1970-2000
10
8
6
4
2
0
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review, 2004, Table 3.4.
The effect of this trend is shown in Figure 9, which illustrates the proportion
of the gross domestic product (GDP) dedicated to consumer spending on oil. The
price surges in the 1970s pushed this ratio from about 4.5% before the Arab oil
embargo to about 8.5% following the 1978 crisis in Iran, but since then it has
declined to less than 4%.
Gasoline Taxes. The federal tax on gasoline is currently 18.4 cents per
gallon. An extensive list of the gasoline and diesel fuel tax rates imposed by each
state per gallon of motor fuel is maintained and updated by the American Petroleum
Institute (API), “State Motor Fuel Excise Tax Rates,” at
[http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/mft010106.pdf]
































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CRS-14
Electricity
While overall energy consumption in the United States increased nearly three-
fold since 1950, electricity consumption increased even more rapidly. Annual power
generation is ten times what it was in 1950. Figure 10 illustrates the trend.
Figure 10. Electricity Generation by Source, selected years 1950 -
2004
4000
Petroleum
3500
Natural Gas
3000
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Nuclear
2500
Petroleum
Nuclear
Hydro
2000
Natural Gas
Hydro
1500
Nuclear
Petroleum
Hydro
Natural Gas
Coal
1000
Hydro
Nuclear
Coal
Petroleum
Natural Gas
Coal
500
Hydro
Coal
Hydro
N.G.
Coal
Other
Coal
0
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 8.2a.
Throughout this period, coal was used to generate about half the rapidly
increasing amount of electricity consumed. Petroleum became briefly important as
a source of power generation in the late 1960s because it resulted in lower emissions
of air pollutants, but the price surges of the 1970s reversed that trend, and in 2003
only 3% of power generation was oil-fired.
Natural gas generation has a more complicated history. Consumption by the
electric power industry increased gradually as access by pipeline became more
widespread. With the price surge in oil in the 1970s, demand for gas also increased,
but interstate prices were regulated, and gas availability declined. In addition, federal
energy policy viewed generation of electricity by gas to be a wasteful use of a
diminishing resource. The Fuel Use Act of 1978 prohibited new power generators
from using gas and set a timetable for shutting down existing gas-fired plants. Gas
prices were later deregulated, resulting in increased production, and the Fuel Use Act
was repealed, but in the meantime generation of electricity from gas fell from 24%
in 1970 to 12% in 1985. In the 1990s gas became more popular, and by 2000 was
supplying 16% of total electric generation. Most capacity additions during the late







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































CRS-15
1990s were gas fired, as illustrated in Figure 11. The increased demand contributed
to high prices in 2000 that were felt particularly in California.
Nuclear power started coming on line in significant amounts in the late 1960s,
and by 1975, in the midst of the oil crisis, was supplying 9% of total generation.
However, increases in capital costs, construction delays, and public opposition to
nuclear power following the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 curtailed expansion
of the technology, and many construction projects were cancelled. Continuation of
some construction increased the nuclear share of generation to 20% in 1990, where
it remains currently, but no new plants are currently under construction or on order.
Construction of major hydroelectric projects has also essentially ceased, and
hydropower’s share of electricity generation has gradually declined from 30% in
1950 to 15% in 1975 and less than 10% in 2000. However, hydropower remains
highly important on a regional basis.
Figure 11. Capacity Additions, 1990-1999
20
15
10
5
0
1990-93
1994-96
1997-99
Gas/Oil
Coal
Nuclear
Hydro/Other
Source: EIA, Inventory of Electric Power Plants, 1990, Inventory of Electric Utility Power Plants,
2000, & Inventory of Nonutility Electric Power Plants, 2000, Table 2.

CRS-16
Table 6. Electricity Generation by Region and Fuel, 2004
Total
Percent Generated by
Generation
(billion
Petro- Natural
Region
kwh)
Coal
leum
Gas
Nuclear Hydro Other
New England
135.3
14.2
9.1
37.7
27.0
5.7
6.3
Middle Atlantic
414.2
37.0
6.2
12.8
35.1
7.3
1.6
East North Central
646.7
70.4
0.3
3.7
23.3
0.8
1.5
West North Central
300.3
77.1
0.4
2.1
15.5
3.2
1.7
South Atlantic
790.2
52.1
5.4
12.5
25.2
2.0
2.9
East South Central
373.7
63.3
0.9
7.8
18.9
6.6
2.5
West South Central
590.7
39.1
0.4
43.3
12.4
1.4
3.4
Mountain
342.5
64.1
0.1
17.4
8.2
8.3
1.9
Pacific Contiguous
342.3
4.7
0.1
34.5
11.5
40.3
8.9
Pacific
17.5
12.9
52.7
20.0
0.0
9.8
4.6
Noncontiguous
U.S. Total
3,953.4
50.0
2.5
17.7
19.9
6.8
3.0
Source: EIA, Electric Power Monthly, October 2005, Tables 1.6B, 1.7B, 1.8B, 1.9B, 1.11B, and
1.12B.
Note: “Other” includes renewables other than hydro, pumped storage, petroleum coke, gases other
than natural gas, and other sources.
Sources of power generation vary greatly by region (see Table 6). Hydropower
in the Pacific Coast states, for instance, supplies over 40% of total generation, and
natural gas almost 35%. In 2000, the combination of a drought-caused shortage of
hydropower, a tightening of gas supply, and California’s new electric regulatory
scheme and market manipulation caused very sharp increases in electricity prices in
that region. Other regions are heavily dependent on coal generation: the north central
and east south central states, as well as the mountain states, generate more than 60%
of their electricity from coal, while other regions such as New England and the
Pacific Coast use relatively little coal. The west south central region generates 43%
of its electricity from gas. New England in the 1970s and 1980s was heavily
dependent on oil-generated power; in 2003, despite an increased use of natural gas,
oil produced 9% of New England’s power, compared to the national average of 2.5%.

CRS-17
Figure 12. Price of Retail Residential Electricity, 1960-2004
14
12
Real Dollars (2000)
10
8
6
Nominal Dollars
4
2
0
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2004
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 8.10.

CRS-18
Other Conventional Energy Resources
Natural Gas
Consumption of natural gas was about four times as great in 2004 as it was in
1950. Throughout the period, consumption in the residential and commercial sector
grew at about the same rate as total consumption, in the range of 30% to 40% of the
total. Consumption for electric power generation increased from about 10% in 1950
to more than 20% at the end of the century.
In part because of increased demand by electric utilities, natural gas prices have
become extremely volatile in recent years, as illustrated by Figure 13.
Table 7. Natural Gas Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004
Percent Consumed by:
Total
Consumption
Residential-
(tcf)
Commercial
Industrial
Electric
1950
5.77
27.5
59.4
10.9
1955
8.69
31.7
52.2
13.3
1960
11.97
34.5
48.2
14.4
1965
15.28
35.0
46.5
15.2
1970
21.14
34.2
43.8
18.6
1975
19.54
38.0
42.8
16.2
1980
19.88
37.0
41.2
18.5
1985
17.28
39.7
39.7
17.6
1990
19.17
36.6
43.1
16.9
1995
22.21
35.5
42.3
19.1
2000
23.33
35.0
39.8
22.3
2001
22.24
35.0
38.1
24.0
2002
23.01
34.9
37.5
24.6
2003
22.38
37.1
36.9
22.9
2004
22.32
35.3
37.7
24.0
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review, 2004, Table 6.5.

CRS-19
Figure 13. Natural Gas Prices to Electric Utilities, 1978-2004
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2004
Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review, September 2005, Table 9.11.

CRS-20
Coal
Consumption of coal about doubled in the half-century from 1950 to 2000, but
during that period coal as an energy source changed from a widely used resource to
a single-use fuel for generating electricity. In 1950 the residential and commercial
sector consumed almost a quarter of total coal consumed; by 1980 less than 1% of
coal went to that sector. In transportation, steam locomotives (and some coal-fired
marine transportation) consumed 13% of coal; by 1970 they were all replaced with
diesel-burning or electric engines. Industry consumed 46% of coal in 1950; by 2000
less than 10% of coal was consumed by that sector. Meanwhile, the electric power
sector, which consumed less than 20% of the half-billion tons of coal burned in 1950,
used more than 90% of the billion-plus tons consumed in 2004.
Table 8. Coal Consumption by Sector, 1950-2004
Percent Consumed by:
Total
Consumption
Residential-
(Million Tons)
Commercial
Industrial
Transportation
Electric
1950
494.1
23.2
45.5
12.8
18.6
1955
447.0
15.3
48.7
3.8
32.2
1960
398.1
10.3
44.6
0.8
44.4
1965
472.0
5.4
42.6
0.1
51.9
1970
523.2
3.1
35.7
0.1
61.2
1975
562.6
1.7
26.2

72.2
1980
702.7
0.9
18.1

81.0
1985
818.0
1.0
14.2

84.8
1990
904.5
0.7
12.7

86.5
1995
962.1
0.6
11.0

88.4
2000
1084.1
0.4
8.7

90.9
2003
1094.1
0.4
7.8

91.8
2004
1104.3
0.4
7.7

91.9
Source: EIA, Annual Energy Review 2004, Table 7.3.

CRS-21
Conservation and Energy Efficiency
Vehicle Fuel Economy
Energy efficiency has been a popular goal of policy makers in responding to the
repeated energy crises of recent decades, and efforts to reduce the energy intensity of
a broad spectrum of economic activities have been made both at the government and
private level. Because of the transportation sector’s near total dependence on
vulnerable oil supplies, improving the efficiency of motor vehicles has been of
particular interest. (For an analysis of legislative policies to improve vehicle fuel
economy, see CRS Issue Brief IB90122, Automobile and Light Truck Fuel Economy:
The CAFE Standards
, by Robert Bamberger.) Figure 14 illustrates the trends in this
effort for passenger cars and for light trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles, as well
as the general lack of improvement in heavy trucks.
Figure 14. Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Rates, 1973 - 2003
25
20
Passenger Cars
(& Motorcycles till 1989)
15
Pickup Trucks, Vans & SUV’s
10
Trucks
5
0
1973
1978
1983
1988
1993
1998
2003
Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review, October 2005, Table 1.9.
Further analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), involving the
composition of the fleet as well as the per-vehicle fuel rates, indicates that light
vehicle fuel economy has declined on average between 1988 and 2003. This is
largely because of increased weight, higher performance, and a higher proportion of
sport utility vehicles and light trucks sold. In 2003, SUVs, pickups and vans
comprised 48% of all sales, more than twice their market share in 1983. (The EPA
study is available online at [http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fetrends.htm].)

CRS-22
Energy Consumption and GDP
A frequent point of concern in formulating energy policy is the relationship
between economic growth and energy use. It seems obvious that greater economic
activity would bring with it increased energy consumption, although many other
factors affecting consumption make the short-term relationship highly variable. Over
a longer period, for some energy-related activities, the relationship with economic
growth has been essentially level. For the period from 1973 to 2003, for instance,
consumption of electricity remained close to 0.45 kwh per constant dollar of GDP.
Similarly, the number of miles driven by all vehicles was close to 3 miles per
constant dollar of GDP throughout the same period.
In the case of oil and gas, however, a remarkable drop took place in the ratio of
consumption to economic growth following the price spikes and supply disruptions,
as illustrated in Figure 15. Consumption of oil and gas declined from 14,000 Btus
per constant dollar of GDP in 1973 to a little more than 8,000 in 1985, and has
continued to decline at a slower rate since then.
Figure 15. Oil and Natural Gas Consumption per Dollar of GDP, 1973-
2004
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
1973
1978
1983
1988
1993
1998
2003
Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review, October 2005, Table 1.8.
During the earlier period, oil and gas consumption actually declined 15% while
GDP, despite many economic problems with inflation and slow growth, was
increasing by 44% (see Figure 16). During the period 1987 to 2004, oil and gas
consumption increased by about 26%, while GDP increased 66%.

CRS-23
Figure 16. Change in Oil and Natural Gas Consumption and Growth
in GDP, 1973-2004
80%
66.1%
60%
44.3%
40%
25.8%
GDP
GDP
20%
Oil &
Natural Gas
Consumption
0
Oil &
Natural Gas
Consumption
-14.7%
-20%
1973-1986
1987-2004
Source: EIA, Monthly Energy Review, October 2005, Table 1.8.

CRS-24
Major Statistical Resources
Links to Sources
Most of the tables and figures in this report are derived from data bases
maintained by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
If other or more detailed information is desired, the agency’s website presents the
complete text of its many statistical reports in PDF format, and also as spreadsheet
files in the format of the program Excel. Some of the more important EIA
publications are described below. Other sources used in this report are also listed.
Energy Information Administration. [http://www.eia.doe.gov]
“The agency’s responsibility is to provide timely, high-quality information and to
perform objective, credible analyses. ... EIA collects, evaluates, assembles, analyzes,
and disseminates data and information relevant to energy resources, reserves,
production, demand, technology, and related economic and statistical information.”
Annual Energy Review [http://www.eia.doe.gov/aer/contents.html]
“The Annual Energy Review (AER) presents the Energy Information Administration’s
historical energy statistics. For many series, statistics are given for every year from
1949 through 2001. The statistics cover all major energy activities, including
consumption, production, trade, stocks [inventories], and prices, for all major energy
commodities, including fossil fuels, electricity, and renewable energy sources.”
Monthly Energy Review [http://www.eia.doe.gov/mer/contents.html]
The Monthly Energy Review (MER) presents an overview of the EIA’s recent
monthly energy statistics. The statistics cover the major activities of U.S. production,
consumption, trade, stocks (inventories) and prices for petroleum, natural gas, coal
electricity, and nuclear energy.
International Energy Annual [http://www.eia.doe.gov/iea/contents.html]
The International Energy Annual presents information and trends on world energy
production and consumption for petroleum, natural gas, coal, and electricity. This
report is published to keep the public and other interested parties fully informed of
primary energy supplies on a global basis.
Weekly Petroleum Status Report
[http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/weekly_petroleum_
status_report/wpsr.html] The Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) provides
data on supply and selected prices of crude oil and principal petroleum products in
the context of historical data and forecasts. Updated every Wednesday morning.
Electric Power Annual
[http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html]
The Electric Power Annual provides a statistical review of the domestic electric
power industry for the most recent year including information on; industry capability,
generation, fossil-fuel consumption, and stocks. Data on retail sales of electricity and
average revenue per kilowatt-hour are also presented.

CRS-25
Other Sources.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission Information Digest
[http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/nuregs/staff/sr1350/ ]
Updated annually, this official NRC publication (NUREG-1350) includes general
statistics on U.S. and worldwide nuclear power production, U.S. nuclear reactors, and
radioactive waste.
American Petroleum Institute (API)
[http://api-ec.api.org/newsplashpage/index.cfm]
The primary trade association of the oil and natural gas industry representing more
than 400 members. Research, programs, and publications on public policy, technical
standards, industry statistics, and regulations. Includes the “State Motor Fuel Excise
Tax Rates” mentioned above. [http://api-ec.api.org/filelibrary/mft010106.pdf]
Bloomberg.Com, Market Data: Commodities, Energy Prices
[http://www.bloomberg.com/energy/index.html]
Displays four tables:
! Petroleum ($/bbl) for crude oil. The generally accepted price for
crude oil is “WTI Cushing $” which is listed fourth in the table.
! Petroleum (¢/gal) for heating oil and gasoline.
! Natural Gas ($/MMBtu)
! Electricity ($/megawatt hour)
This site is updated two to three times per day.
AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report [http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/index.asp]
At-the-pump retail fuel prices for gasoline and diesel fuel. Gives average price for
today, yesterday, a month ago and a year ago for wholesale and crude oil. Also
displays line chart showing the averages for the previous 12 months. National, state,
and metropolitan data.
International Energy Agency [http://www.iea.org]
The International Energy Agency is an autonomous body within the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It gathers and analyzes statistics
and “disseminates information on the world energy market and seeks to promote
stable international trade in energy.”
A subscription is required to access most of the information on this Website,
although a limited amount of information is available to nonsubscribers. Members
of Congress and their staff should contact CRS for a copy of anything that requires
a subscription.