Global access to electricity has increased over the past two decades

According to the most recent data from the World Bank, 15% of the world's population—approximately 1.1 billion people—lacked access to electricity in 2014. However, access to electricity has been generally increasing over the past two decades. In 1994, approximately 27% of the world's population lacked access to electricity. More »

United States remains the world’s top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbon

The United States remained the world's top producer of petroleum and natural gas hydrocarbons in 2016 for the fifth straight year despite production declines for both petroleum and natural gas relative to their 2015 levels. More »

As U.S. airlines carry more passengers, jet fuel use remains well below its previous peak

The amount of jet fuel consumed by U.S. airlines increased in both 2015 and 2016, although jet fuel use in 2016 remained 11% lower than its level a decade ago. Jet fuel use was lower despite the fact that the number of passengers traveling on U.S. carriers in 2016 was 7% higher than in 2007. More »

NERC’s Summer Reliability Assessment highlights seasonal electricity reliability issues

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation's (NERC) recent "2017 Summer Reliability Assessment" finds that there are enough resources to meet this summer's projected peak electricity demand in all areas of the country. More »

As coal shipments decline, rail remains dominant mode of coal transport to power sector

The U.S. electric power sector consumed 677 million short tons of coal in 2016, the lowest amount since 1984. Electric power sector coal consumption accounted for more than 93% of all coal consumed in the United States, and more than two-thirds of this coal was shipped either completely or in part by rail. More »

More than half of small-scale photovoltaic generation comes from residential rooftops

Generation from small-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems totaled about 37% of the annual generation from all U.S. solar PV electricity generators in 2016. EIA's small-scale category includes PV systems that have less than one megawatt (MW) of generating capacity. More »