9. Electricity

Key data

(2018 provisional)

Electricity generation: 4 413.4 TWh (natural gas 34.3%, coal 28.4%, nuclear 19.1%, hydro 6.7%, wind 6.3%, solar 2.1%, bioenergy and waste 1.7%, oil 0.9%, geothermal and others 0.5%), +1.6% since 2008

Electricity net imports: 44.5 TWh (imports 58.3 TWh, exports 13.8 TWh)

Installed capacity (2017): 1 100.3 GW

Electricity consumption (2017): 3 869.0 TWh (commercial 40.7%, residential 35.5%, industry 20.1%, other energy 3.4%, transport 0.3%)

Overview

The United States (US) has a complex electricity system with a mix of competitive markets, vertically integrated markets, and private and publicly owned assets. A majority of the country’s power system operates under regional competitive bulk markets. Regulatory authority over bulk power markets, including competitive and traditionally regulated, rests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The US power system has a strong track record of ensuring reliability and resilience thanks to the strength of its federal crisis response policy and its reliability governance, such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

In the face of rising extreme weather events, new cybersecurity threats, a growing share of variable generation, and retirement of older coal and nuclear plants (due in part to lower wholesale natural gas power prices), the United States has recently entered into a renewed debate on reliability and resilience.

This debate is taking place alongside additional challenges. The US bulk power system is increasingly facing uncertainties stemming from the rise of distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, digitalisation and an ageing power infrastructure. Some grid operators have reacted to these challenges by revising rules that adapt to new demand and supply sources based on guidance from FERC and NERC. However, the complexity and governance of the US power system requires a range of market-specific reforms, several of which are already under consideration.

In this context, a challenge for regulators at both the federal and states levels will be to establish and apply rules across different markets in response to changes in the generation mix. This would be beneficial to avoid potential reliability risks in a context of

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