What's Actually Happening with US Energy Sales

As the economy continues to grow worldwide, the nation’s appetite for energy also is expected to grow apace, bolstering an ever-growing market for energy brokers to deal with. 

The U.S. Department of Energy's statistical arm projected power demand to climb to 4,022 billion kilowatt-hours in 2022 and 4,045 billion kWh in 2023 from 3,930 billion kWh in 2021, according to Reuters. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, nearly all of the utility-scale electricity generated in the United States was sold to other industries, with the electric power sector accounting for over 96% of that total.

How Do You Set the Price of Energy?  

There are a wide number of factors that can affect the price of energy at any time.  One of those factors is the supply of materials that energy comes from. 

US Energy Consumption

U.S. energy consumption comes from five main sources: petroleum, natural gas, renewable energy, coal, and nuclear electric power. Renewable energy is made up of seven main types: wind, hydroelectric, biofuels, wood, solar, and geothermal. The mix of U.S. energy consumption and production continues to transform, with demand for coal falling since 2008. Meanwhile, demand for natural gas and renewable energy sources has continued to rise in recent years. 

U.S. energy consumption, when it’s broken down into sources and energy sectors, is a complex beast. End-use sectors include transportation, industrial, residential, and commercial uses, consuming some 73.5 quadrillion BTUs in 2021. The industrial sector continues to use a significant portion of that energy. In 2021, the industrial sector was responsible for 33% of all US energy consumption and 35% of all US end-use energy.

US Energy Demand

The demand for energy is another factor that significantly influences the price of energy. 

Energy production has been outpacing consumption since 2019, according to the EIA. This hasn’t happened in the United States since 1957. 

The price of energy is also affected by natural gas storage, weather, global markets, government regulation, imports and exports, and financial speculation. 

All of this combines for a complex and rapidly changing market that energy brokers have to learn and react to responsively. The price of most energy changes by the hour. 

How Can I Make US Energy Procurement More Streamlined?

Supply and demand, which are fundamental economic elements, are fairly predictable, but when political and regulatory variables are included, along with financial speculation, projecting energy prices becomes more difficult.

Energy brokers have to reach energy deals between suppliers and clients more quickly and efficiently in this ever-growing market. 

Solutions Designed for a Sustainable Energy Marketplace

Talk to our experts to learn how energy brokers like you are looking to improve how they win energy deals. We’ll help you make deals faster and more efficiently with our unique software solutions.

POWWR exists to create solutions for a Sustainable Energy Marketplace. Using our industry experience and working in partnership with our customers, we combine technology with human ingenuity to build elegant and sustainable solutions for the global energy marketplace.

We want brokers to be able to scale their businesses and be empowered to make smarter strategic decisions. Broker360 is our solution to making this possible for power brokers.