The U.S. electric power grid delivered a record 4,243 billion kilowatt-hours in 2022, a quiet revolution where natural gas and renewables now generate nearly two-thirds of our electricity, signaling a profound shift in how we power our lives.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, U.S. electric power plants generated 4,243 billion kWh of electricity, a 2% increase from 2021
- Natural gas accounted for 42.7% of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation in 2022, producing about 1,730 billion kWh
- Coal generated 19.7% of U.S. electricity in 2022, down from 20.6% in 2021, totaling 828 billion kWh
- In 2022, the U.S. high-voltage transmission network spanned 240,000 miles
- U.S. transmission losses averaged 5% of generated electricity in 2022, totaling 208 billion kWh
- There were 600,000 miles of transmission lines rated 230 kV or higher in the U.S. in 2022
- In 2022, U.S. distribution lines totaled 7.3 million miles, serving 170 million customers
- Distribution transformers in U.S.: over 60 million units in service in 2022
- U.S. distribution losses averaged 5-6% of electricity delivered in 2022
- U.S. retail electricity sales totaled 3,944 billion kWh in 2022
- Residential sector consumed 1,485 billion kWh in U.S. 2022, 38% of total
- Commercial sector U.S. electricity use: 1,374 billion kWh in 2022, 35% share
- In 2022, U.S. electric utility revenues totaled $1.2 trillion, with generation 40% share
- Global power sector investment hit $1.1 trillion in 2022
- U.S. renewable energy capacity additions cost averaged $1,100/kW for solar in 2022
Natural gas leads American electricity generation as renewable sources continue rising globally.
Consumption
- U.S. retail electricity sales totaled 3,944 billion kWh in 2022
- Residential sector consumed 1,485 billion kWh in U.S. 2022, 38% of total
- Commercial sector U.S. electricity use: 1,374 billion kWh in 2022, 35% share
- Industrial sector consumed 986 billion kWh in U.S. 2022, 25% of total sales
- Transportation sector electricity: 17 billion kWh in U.S. 2022, up 8%
- Average U.S. residential electricity use: 10,791 kWh per household in 2022
- U.S. peak demand hit 763 GW in summer 2022
- Global electricity demand grew 2.6% to 26,369 TWh in 2022
- Air conditioning drove 18% of U.S. residential summer peak in 2022
- Data centers consumed 4% of U.S. electricity in 2022, projected to 8% by 2030
- EVs accounted for 1% of U.S. electricity consumption in 2022
- Average commercial building electricity use: 15 kWh/sq ft annually in U.S. 2022
- Industrial electricity intensity fell 1.2% in U.S. 2022
- U.S. electricity price averaged 12.41 cents/kWh in 2022 for retail
- Residential prices up 13.6% to 15.12 cents/kWh in 2022 U.S.
- Time-of-use rates adopted by 20 million U.S. customers in 2022
- Demand response programs reduced U.S. peak by 30 GW in 2022
- Global residential electricity share: 27% of total demand in 2022
- U.S. summer peak hour demand grew 2% to 750 GW in 2022
- Electricity for lighting: 9% of U.S. residential use in 2022
- Appliances and electronics: 34% of residential electricity in U.S. 2022
- Heating/cooling: 46% of U.S. residential electricity end-use in 2022
- U.S. total end-use consumption: 3,630 billion kWh after losses in 2022
- Global final electricity consumption: 22,900 TWh in 2022
- U.S. revenue from electricity sales: $488 billion in 2022
Consumption Interpretation
America's homes, businesses, and industries guzzle over 3.9 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, proving that while we might argue about the future of energy, our current appetite for it is a shockingly expensive and climate-controlled habit we simply cannot power down.
Distribution
- In 2022, U.S. distribution lines totaled 7.3 million miles, serving 170 million customers
- Distribution transformers in U.S.: over 60 million units in service in 2022
- U.S. distribution losses averaged 5-6% of electricity delivered in 2022
- Overhead distribution lines make up 83% of U.S. total mileage
- Average U.S. distribution voltage is 12-35 kV for primary feeders
- Smart meters deployed: 118 million in U.S. by end-2022, 72% of customers
- Distribution automation reduced outage duration by 20% in equipped U.S. utilities in 2022
- U.S. residential distribution service drops: 150 million in 2022
- Volt/VAR optimization implemented on 40% of U.S. distribution feeders by 2022
- Distribution system hosting capacity for DERs averaged 15% of peak load in 2022
- U.S. underground distribution cables: 1.2 million miles in 2022
- Annual distribution O&M costs: $50 billion in U.S. utilities in 2022
- Fault indicators on U.S. distribution lines: over 1 million devices in 2022
- Microgrids connected to distribution: 500+ in U.S. by 2022
- Distribution management systems (DMS) in use by 70% of large U.S. utilities in 2022
- EV charger impacts on distribution: 1.4 million Level 2 chargers by end-2022
- Rooftop solar penetration reached 5% of distribution load in California in 2022
- U.S. distribution reliability: SAIDI averaged 120 minutes/year in 2022
- Capacitor banks on U.S. distribution: 500,000+ units for voltage control in 2022
- Global distribution losses: 8-10% average, with U.S. at 5%
Distribution Interpretation
While America's sprawling, 7.3 million-mile distribution network—with its army of 60 million transformers and 118 million smart sentinels—heroically delivers power with relatively low losses and improving reliability, its 50-billion-dollar upkeep and modest 15% readiness for a solar and EV revolution reveal a grid that is brilliantly patched for the 20th century but nervously eyeing the 21st.
Economics
- In 2022, U.S. electric utility revenues totaled $1.2 trillion, with generation 40% share
- Global power sector investment hit $1.1 trillion in 2022
- U.S. renewable energy capacity additions cost averaged $1,100/kW for solar in 2022
- Average U.S. wholesale electricity price: $42/MWh in 2022
- Natural gas price correlation: 70% of U.S. wholesale power price variance in 2022
- U.S. utility capex: $120 billion in 2022, 30% for renewables
- Global clean energy investment: $1.1 trillion, twice fossil fuels in 2022
- U.S. residential electricity bills averaged $1,550/year in 2022
- Capacity markets cleared 200 GW at average $50/kW-year in PJM 2022
- U.S. power plant decommissioning: 10 GW coal retired in 2022
- Levelized cost of new solar PV: $36/MWh unsubsidized in U.S. 2022
- Offshore wind LCOE: $72-140/MWh in U.S. 2022 projections
- U.S. energy efficiency saved $800 billion in electricity costs 2012-2022
- Retail competition in 17 U.S. states served 40 million customers in 2022
- Global power market size: $3.5 trillion revenue in 2022
- U.S. IOU distribution revenues: $300 billion in 2022
- Carbon pricing covered 23% of global power emissions in 2022
- U.S. renewable tax credits claimed: $15 billion under ITC/PTC in 2022
- Electricity trade value: $50 billion in U.S. imports/exports 2022
- Utility net income: $50 billion for U.S. investor-owned in 2022
Economics Interpretation
While America's power grid is a staggering $1.2 trillion colossus, it’s currently being rewired at great cost, proving that the transition from fossil fuels is less a gentle switch and more a heart-pounding, multi-trillion-dollar relay race where the baton keeps getting heavier.
Generation
- In 2022, U.S. electric power plants generated 4,243 billion kWh of electricity, a 2% increase from 2021
- Natural gas accounted for 42.7% of U.S. utility-scale electricity generation in 2022, producing about 1,730 billion kWh
- Coal generated 19.7% of U.S. electricity in 2022, down from 20.6% in 2021, totaling 828 billion kWh
- Nuclear power provided 18.2% of U.S. net electricity generation in 2022, equating to 775 billion kWh from 93 reactors
- Renewables (including hydro, wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal) made up 21.0% of U.S. electricity generation in 2022
- Wind power generated 434 billion kWh in the U.S. in 2022, representing 10.3% of total generation
- Utility-scale solar photovoltaic plants generated 205 billion kWh in 2022, or 4.9% of U.S. total electricity generation
- Hydropower accounted for 5.9% of U.S. electricity generation in 2022, producing 248 billion kWh
- Globally, electricity generation reached 28,466 TWh in 2022, up 2.5% from 2021
- Coal-fired power plants generated 36% of global electricity in 2022
- In the EU, renewable sources generated 44% of electricity in 2022, led by wind and hydro
- China added 76 GW of solar PV capacity in 2022, bringing total to 392 GW
- U.S. battery storage capacity reached 7.4 GW by end of 2022, up 64% from 2021
- Geothermal power plants in the U.S. produced 15.8 billion kWh in 2022
- Biomass power generated 63.6 billion kWh in the U.S. in 2022, 1.5% of total
- U.S. net summer capacity totaled 1,187,555 MW in 2022
- Onshore wind capacity in U.S. was 141 GW at end of 2022
- Utility-scale solar capacity reached 71 GW in U.S. by end-2022
- Natural gas combined-cycle plants had capacity factor of 56% in 2022
- Coal plant capacity factor averaged 40.3% in U.S. in 2022
- Nuclear plants operated at 92.7% capacity factor in 2022
- Global solar PV generation grew 24% to 1,050 TWh in 2022
- Wind generation worldwide increased 9% to 2,001 TWh in 2022
- U.S. small-scale solar generated 38 billion kWh in 2022
- Pumped-storage hydropower capacity was 22.9 GW in U.S. in 2022
- Concentrating solar power generated 1.5 billion kWh in U.S. in 2022
- U.S. electricity generation from petroleum was 15.8 billion kWh in 2022
- Other gases contributed 28.8 billion kWh to U.S. generation in 2022
- Global hydropower generation fell 1% to 4,240 TWh in 2022 due to droughts
- U.S. net generation from renewables excluding hydro was 13.6% of total in 2022
Generation Interpretation
America is trying to pivot to a cleaner future, but with natural gas still holding court at 42.7% and coal stubbornly powering over a third of the globe, it currently looks like we're energetically stuck in a doorway, with one foot in the wind farm and the other still in the fossil-fueled past.
Transmission
- In 2022, the U.S. high-voltage transmission network spanned 240,000 miles
- U.S. transmission losses averaged 5% of generated electricity in 2022, totaling 208 billion kWh
- There were 600,000 miles of transmission lines rated 230 kV or higher in the U.S. in 2022
- High-voltage direct current (HVDC) lines in U.S. totaled about 2,000 miles in 2022
- U.S. grid operators managed 1,200 GW of peak load through transmission in 2022
- Investment in U.S. transmission infrastructure reached $22.7 billion in 2022, up 11%
- Average transmission line length in U.S. is 300 miles for 500 kV lines
- Congestion costs on U.S. transmission grids totaled $7.3 billion in 2021 (latest detailed)
- U.S. has 10 major transmission interconnections, including Eastern, Western, and ERCOT
- Dynamic line rating technology could increase U.S. transmission capacity by 40%, per DOE studies
- U.S. transmission capacity utilization averaged 45% in 2022
- Advanced conductors installed on 1,000 miles of U.S. lines by 2022
- Global HVDC transmission capacity reached 200 GW in 2022
- In Europe, 50 GW of new transmission lines planned by 2030
- U.S. transformer manufacturing lead time averaged 120 weeks in 2022
- Interregional transmission transfers in U.S. averaged 10% of load in 2022
- U.S. bulk power system reliability was maintained with 99.9% uptime in 2022
- Overhead transmission lines comprise 80% of U.S. high-voltage infrastructure
- Underground transmission is 20% more costly per mile than overhead in U.S.
- U.S. transmission projects approved totaled 5,000 circuit-miles in 2022
- Fault rates on U.S. 345 kV lines averaged 1.2 per 100 miles/year in 2022
- Phasor measurement units (PMUs) deployed: over 2,000 in U.S. grid by 2022
- Transmission vegetation management prevented 8.6% of outages in 2022
- U.S. extra-high voltage (765 kV+) lines total 2,500 miles
- Cross-border transmission capacity U.S.-Canada: 20 GW
- U.S. transmission R&D funding: $250 million in FY2022
Transmission Interpretation
The U.S. power grid is a sprawling, aging, and remarkably reliable beast, but its chronic congestion, modest utilization, and slow-moving upgrades reveal a system trying to modernize a continent-sized network with the urgency of someone waiting 120 weeks for a transformer.
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