Electricity consumption in the UK 2000-2021

The United Kingdom’s electricity use has been in decline since peaking at 357 terawatt-hours in 2005. In 2021, the UK's electricity consumption fell to its second-lowest level this century, at 294.4 terawatt-hours. Electricity consumption in the UK typically follows a seasonal trend, peaking in the winter months.

How electricity-intensive is the UK?

Despite the continual decline in electricity consumption, the UK remains one of the largest electricity consumers in the world. In terms of per capita electricity consumption, however, the UK pales in comparison to other European countries such as Norway, Germany, and France. In 2020, it registered an average of 4,500 kilowatt-hours per person.

The race towards a clean power mix

In 2010, gas and coal accounted for 75 percent of the UK's power mix. Since then, alongside the EU Renewables Directive, the UK agreed and created its own National Renewable Energy Plan, to increase the use of renewable sources and decrease its fossil fuels dependence. In the past decade, the share of energy consumption in the UK attributable to fossil fuels has decreased from roughly 90 percent to some 76.5 percent in 2020. That same year, renewables surpassed fossil fuels for the first time as the UK's leading source of electricity.