The US equivalent of Ofgem is FERC, or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, who oversee wholesale and transmission of electricity. On a local level, the individual states have jurisdiction over local distribution. Local distribution, retail sales of electricity inside a state from one entity to an end user, and the siting and development of transmission facilities, production facilities, and distribution networks are all under state sovereignty. Municipalities and electric cooperatives in some cases self-regulate comparable operations. Texas’ electrical system is not electrically connected to any transmission grid outside the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages retail and wholesale energy sales, transmission, and distribution in Texas, which is controlled by the Public Utility Commission of Texas.
Other government agencies (such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC)) play important roles in the electrical business. Furthermore, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates futures sales that do not involve a physical transfer of the commodity. In many cases, one or more of these regulatory regimes overlap or clash, resulting in a complicated web of legal, regulatory, economic, technological, and environmental ramifications and considerations for electricity dealers, customers, and regulators.
Jennifer Granholm, as of February 2021, is the US Secretary of Energy.The DOE is in charge of developing and enforcing federal energy policy, whereas the FERC is in charge of overseeing the more technical parts of the power business. The FERC, on the other hand, frequently uses its wholesale energy market power to carry out broader government policy. The present presidential administration, for example, has adopted policies that would ensure the continued profitability of coal, nuclear, and natural gas-fired power plants. As a result, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently imposed minimum offer prices in certain wholesale capacity markets for renewable resources that receive government subsidies, ostensibly to make coal- and gas-fired generators more competitive.
While the FERC is in charge of regulating the technical aspects of the energy business, it frequently uses technical laws to enforce broader government policies.
States also have energy regulatory bodies that carry out their policies. These bodies deal with topics that aren’t handled by the federal government and vary from state to state, such as renewable portfolio standards.
| North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NAERC) | A corporation based in the United States (NERC). The NERC is a non-profit international regulatory body that is governed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Canadian government. The NERC promotes the reliability and security of North America’s bulk power system by developing and enforcing its Reliability Standards, assessing seasonal and long-term reliability annually, monitoring the bulk power system through system awareness, and educating, training, and certifying industry personnel. The NERC regulates users, owners, and operators of bulk power systems in the United States, Canada, and parts of Mexico. |
| DOE is the United States Department of Energy | The DOE is in charge of strengthening the United States’ national, economic, and energy security through enacting policies on nuclear power, fossil fuels, and other energy sources. The DOE includes federal power marketing agencies. |
| EPA is the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) | The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) controls greenhouse gas emissions from power facilities. The EPA regulates greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, among other things. The EPA has taken back or scaled back a number of environmental regulations, presumably to assure the continued sustainability of fossil-fired generation facilities, under the present Administration (which has stated an interest in boosting the viability of coal-fired generation). |
| The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) | The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is a federal agency that regulates the trading of commodities. The Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) oversees derivatives markets and certain commodity contracts for potential abuses (including electricity hedges and trade options). Physical sales of power are not covered by the CFTC’s jurisdiction. |
Unless the state deregulation, individual state public utilities commissions have jurisdiction over retail energy sales in the state where the sales are made. The terms and conditions under which investor-owned LSEs sell energy to end users are regulated by state public utilities regulators (such as residential, industrial and commercial consumers). State public utilities commissions (and occasionally other state bodies) govern the siting and physical construction of generation, transmission, and distribution facilities (excluding hydropower and commercial nuclear facilities).
US energy consumption
There are five energy-use sectors, and their major energy consumption in quadrillion Btu (or quads) in 2020 was as follows:
| Electric Power | 35.74 quads |
| Transportation | 24.23 quads |
| Industrial | 22.10 quads |
| Residential | 6.54 quads |
| Commercial | 4.32 quads |
In 2020, the electric power sector accounted for virtually all of overall utility-scale electricity generation in the United States, with nearly all of it sold to other sectors.
Because they utilise primary energy and electricity generated by the electric power sector, the transportation, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors are referred to as end-use sectors.
In 2020, each end-use sector’s primary energy use plus the energy component of electricity acquired from the electric power sector was:
| Transportation | 25.24 quads |
| Industrial | 24.25 quads |
| Residential | 11.53 quads |
| Commercial | 8.67 quads |
The end-use sectors’ total energy consumption includes primary energy consumption, purchased electricity, and electrical system energy losses (energy conversion and other losses connected with the generation, transmission, and distribution of purchased electricity) as well as other energy losses.
Each sector’s energy sources differ significantly. Petroleum, for example, represented nearly 90% of transportation sector energy consumption in 2020, but only 1% of primary energy consumption in the electric power sector.
The mix of energy consumption and production in the United States has shifted over time.
For more than a century, fossil fuels have dominated the American energy mix, but that has altered over time.
In 2007, coal consumption in the United States reached a high of 1.13 billion short tonnes, while coal production reached a high of 1.17 billion short tonnes in 2008. Since those peak years, both have decreased in nearly every year, owing to lower coal consumption for electricity generation in the United States. In terms of total energy content, yearly coal consumption in the United States peaked in 2005 at around 22.80 quads, while output peaked in 1998 at around 24.0 quads.
Because of lower demand for coal and a rise in the share of lower heat content coal used by the electric power sector, the energy content of total annual coal consumption and production has usually decreased since those years. Coal consumption in 2020 was estimated to be around 477 million short tonnes, or 9.18 quads, the lowest percentage share of total US energy consumption since at least 1949. In 2020, coal production was 534 million short tonnes, the lowest since 1965, and equal to around 10.69 quads.
In 2019, natural gas (dry gas) production hit a new high of 33.97 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), or 93.06 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/day). In 2020, dry natural gas output was almost 2% lower, at around 33.44 Tcf (91.36 Bcf/day) and 34.68 quads. Natural gas use in 2020 was estimated to be around 83.28 Bcf/day, or 31.54 quads and 34% of total energy consumption in the United States. Since 2017, yearly dry natural gas output in the United States has outpaced annual natural gas consumption in both volume and heat content.
Natural gas output from shale and tight geologic formations has increased as a result of more effective drilling and production techniques. Natural gas costs have fallen as a result of the increased output, which has led to a rise in natural gas use by the electric power and industrial sectors.
IMPACTS ON THE LIFE CYCLE
The principal environmental impact of the US energy system is air pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and mercury are examples of such emissions.
The leakage of methane from the oil and natural gas supply chain (fracking wells, pipelines, etc.) is estimated to be 13 million metric tonnes (MMT) per year, or 2.3 percent of annual gross natural gas output in the United States. This methane leakage, which has a global warming potential of 28, is comparable to 364 MMT of CO2, or 5.6 percent of total CO2e emissions in the United States in 2019.
In 2019, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States were 1.8 percent higher than in 1990. In 2019, fossil fuel combustion accounted for 74% of total US GHG emissions.
Other energy sources have environmental consequences as well. For example, nuclear power plants produce radioactive waste and need a lot of energy to develop and mine uranium; huge hydroelectric power plants degrade habitat and cause fish kills; and wind turbines modify landscapes in ways that some people dislike and can increase bird and bat mortality.
These are things the US could be, and are, working on in order to improve their energy efficiency in the country:
SOLUTIONS AND SUSTAINABLE OPTIONS USE LESS ENERGY.
Individuals, businesses, and government organisations can all benefit from reduced energy consumption, which not only benefits the environment but also saves money.
Reduced energy consumption can be achieved by living in smaller homes, living closer to work, and taking public transport.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY
By 2050, a strong commitment to energy efficiency could reduce carbon emissions in the United States by 57 percent (2,500 MMT).
RENEWABLE RESOURCES SHOULD BE INCREASED.
In 2019, the United States’ installed wind capacity increased by 9.5 percent to over 105 GW.
Wind would meet 20% of predicted electricity demand if 224 GW of wind capacity were constructed by 2030, as assessed by the US DOE.
Solar photovoltaic modules covering 0.6 percent of the United States’ land area could power the entire country
SUPPORTIVE PUBLIC POLICY
The United States presently emits 15% of the world’s CO2 emissions due to energy use. Emissions in the United States are expected to fall by 0.2 percent by 2035, compared to current levels.
The Climate Action Now Act, which was passed by the House in May 2019, will require an annual plan to guarantee that the US accomplishes its stated targets under the Paris Agreement, which are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025.
The Senate has not yet taken up the bill for a vote. In contrast, the United Kingdom has set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.