1.Overall energy consumption

1.Energy consumption in 2001 was higher than in any other year over the last thirty years. Overall
energy consumption for energy use in the UK has increased by 13 per cent since 1970 and by 11 per
cent since 1990. Since energy consumption is partly dependent on the weather, in a cold year more
energy is consumed to maintain a consistent internal temperature than in a warmer year, energy
consumption is adjusted for temperature to identify the underlying trend. On this basis, energy
consumption increased by 15 per cent between 1970 and 2001 and by 10 per cent between 1990
and 2001.
2.In 2001 natural gas made up twofifths
of all energy consumption in the UK. Since 1990, while use of natural gas has increased by
86 per cent, solid fuel consumption fell by 38 per cent and accounted for 17 per cent of all fuel
consumed in 2001. The increase in natural gas consumption is due to its use in generating electricity,
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations were introduced in 1992.
3.Industrial energy consumption fell by 5 per cent between 1990 and 2001
while energy consumption in the transport, domestic and service sectors increased by 18 per cent,
17 per cent and 19 per cent respectively. In primary energy equivalents in 1990 industry was the
largest sub-sector, followed by the domestic sector. A decade later the domestic sector was the largest,
with transport second
4.Some of the fuel consumed in the UK is transformed into electricity and other manufactured fuels,
which result in energy losses. On average for every 21⁄2 energy units of fuel that goes into power stations,
approximately 1 energy unit of electricity is produced. Since electricity is used for a wide range of
uses and trends in electricity consumption determine the levels of energy required to generate it,
the rest of this chapter focuses on final energy consumption. Final energy consumption covers
the final fuels that are consumed by users so the final amounts of electricity and manufactured solid
fuels are measured rather than the amount of fuel used to generate or manufacture them.
5.Final energy consumption in the UK in 2001, shown in Chart 1.4, was at a higher level than any in
other year over the last thirty years. Overall energy consumption has increased by 10 per cent since
1970 and by 9 per cent since 1990. The fuel mix has changed significantly since 1970 as natural
gas consumption has replaced coal. In 1970 natural gas accounted for 3 per cent of total overall
final energy consumption and in 2001 for 36 per cent. Electricity consumption has increased by
74 per cent over the period. Over the last 20 years it has grown steadily at 2 per cent a year.
6.the transport sector was the largest single consumer of energy in 2001, accounting
for 34 per cent of the total. The domestic sector was responsible for a further 30 per cent and
industry for another 22 per cent. The remaining 14 per cent was consumed by the service sector
(13 per cent) and the agriculture sector (1 per cent).
6.The amount of energy consumed by each sector can be analysed by how it is used. In 2000, 40 per
cent was used for space heating, and 15 per cent for process use. Space heating and hot water
accounted for 82 per cent of domestic use of energy and 64 per cent of commercial use of energy in
2000.
Factors affecting overall energy consumption :
7.Overall energy consumption increased by 11.4 million tonnes of oil equivalent between 1990 and
2000. If the energy required to produce a unit of output was the same in 2000 as in 1990, then it is
estimated that energy consumption would have risen by an additional 7.1 million tonnes of oil
equivalent. This 7.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent is due to a combination of structural change and
changes in efficiency (called an intensity effect). The difference between the intensity effect and the
actual value, an increase of 18.5 million tonnes of oil equivalent, can be attributed to changes due to
output. The largest fall in intensity, of 5.6 million tonnes of oil equivalent, occurred in the industrial
sector. The service sector also experienced a fall in intensity of 4.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent.
Increases in output in both the transport and domestic sectors resulted in increased energy
consumption of 6.4 and 4.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent respectively.
8.As the economy grows and activity increases within the economy it is usually associated with rises in
the production, transportation and consumption of goods and services all of which require energy.
Output from the economy is measured using a constant measure of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to
remove any inflation effects. Between 1970 and 2001, GDP in the UK more than doubled. The energy
ratio measures the relationship between GDP and energy consumption and has fallen steadily over
the period, at approximately 2 per cent each year since 1970, and by 2001 it was 57 per cent of its 1970 value. This downward trend in energy intensity can be explained by a variety of factors:
improvements in energy efficiency; fuel switching; a decline in the relative importance of energy
intensive industries; and the fact that some industrial uses, such as space heating, do not increase in
line with output.
9.Measures of energy intensity by sector can be calculated using Gross Value Added (which contributes
to the overall measure of Gross Domestic Product) for the industrial and service sectors, by the
number of households for the domestic sector (population and household income are alternative
measures), by the distance travelled for the road passenger transport sector and by the distance
travelled and weight carried for the road freight transport sector.Industrial energy intensity has fallen more quickly than the intensities in the other
sectors between 1970 and 2001, mainly due to structural change within the sector as more energyintensive
industries have been replaced with less energy-intensive industries. Energy intensity in the
domestic sector (measured in terms of households here) has remained fairly steady over the period,
despite some fluctuations.